An e-commerce delivery worker sorts parcels in Shanghai. Photo: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Tariff rates on small packages from China will be cut in half, though a flat-fee option will not change, the White House said Monday.
Why it matters: Trump previously ended a loophole that allowed low-value goods into the country tariff-free — the rate reversal will ease price pressures on customers of Chinese retailers like Shein and Temu.
Driving the news: The Trump administration announced a temporary trade deal Monday morning that significantly reduced tariffs on Chinese goods to 30% from 145% for the next 90 days.
- Later in the morning, a White House official told Axios that the "de minimis" tariff was left out of that deal: a 120% tariff rate on shipments from China valued at less than $800, or a flat $100 fee per postal item.
- Then Monday night, the White House released the text of an executive order cutting the tariff rate to 54%, while still maintaining the $100 fee option.
State of play: Trump officially scrapped the longtime de minimis exemption earlier this year, after a delay as Customs and Border Protection established a protocol to collect tariffs on these goods.
- Critics of the exemption say it has hurt U.S. businesses, such as fashion retailer Forever 21, which began liquidating its U.S. stores after partly attributing the rise of Shein and Temu to its downfall.
Editor's Note: This story has been corrected throughout; an earlier version said the de minimis rate was unchanged, but a White House official later clarified that the tariff rate had been cut, while the flat-fee option was unchanged.