New York — A sweeping policy change took effect Friday, marking a pivotal shift in U.S.-China trade relations and signaling Washington’s renewed push to clamp down on low-cost Chinese imports.
The United States has officially scrapped the de minimis threshold for Chinese shipments under $800 — a long-standing exemption that allowed goods to enter the country duty-free. The move upends the backbone of global e-commerce retailers like Shein and Temu, whose rise has been fueled by the mass influx of inexpensive, direct-to-consumer products from China.
Under the new directive, items imported via commercial channels will now face a staggering 145% tariff. Packages entering through the U.S. Postal Service will incur a 120% duty or a minimum charge of $100, set to double next month.
While the White House linked the crackdown to efforts curbing illicit fentanyl trafficking from China, the trade implications are front and center. “This fundamentally reshapes the economics of low-value imports,” said EY’s chief economist Gregory Daco, adding that thin-margin sellers will be forced to hike prices or rethink their models altogether.
The policy comes amid escalating tensions between the world’s two largest economies. The Biden administration recently slapped new tariffs on Chinese-made automobiles, steel, and aluminum — a response swiftly met by Beijing with retaliatory duties as high as 125% on select American goods.
The fallout is expected to be severe for ultra-low-cost platforms such as Shein and Temu, which have built empires on bypassing conventional retail markups. “It’s not just about fashion anymore — it’s a structural blow to frictionless cross-border trade,” noted a senior analyst at Global Trade Watch.
Despite the news, Chinese e-commerce stocks remained buoyant on Wall Street. Shares in PDD Holdings (owner of Temu) and Alibaba both posted gains, indicating market expectations that future negotiations may offer relief — or that traders had already priced in the disruption.
Still, strategic tremors are being felt. According to sources cited by The Financial Times, Shein is shelving its long-planned London IPO as it reassesses global market volatility and the impact of regulatory shifts in its largest export destination.
As global supply chains brace for a recalibration, U.S. trade policy is once again asserting itself as a force capable of reshaping entire industries overnight.
