Catenaa, Wednesday, May 14, 2025-President Donald Trump on Monday cut tariffs on small parcels from Chinese retailers like Shein and Temu, easing a short-lived duty hike that had threatened to disrupt low-cost e-commerce flows between the world’s two largest economies.
The White House announced that tariffs on packages valued at $800 or less arriving from mainland China and Hong Kong were reduced from 120% to 54%.
The flat $100 per-parcel fee remains in place, while a scheduled $200 charge set to begin June 1 has been scrapped. The policy shift came just hours after Washington and Beijing pledged a temporary 90-day reduction in tariffs on each other’s goods as part of renewed trade negotiations.
The decision restores partial relief for online platforms that had previously benefited from the US “de minimis” rule, which exempted low-value imports from duties.
That loophole was closed earlier this month as part of a broader tariff escalation.
Temu and Shein respondedto the developement.
Markets rallied on news of the tariff rollback and Trump’s assertion that recent talks marked a “total reset” in trade terms with China. Under the 90-day accord, US tariffs on Chinese goods will fall from 145% to 30%, while China will reduce its retaliatory duties from 125% to 10%.
Trump however also warned, that suspended tariffs could return if progress stalled.
