President Donald Trump has suspended the de minimis exemption for tariffs on low-cost imported goods, which means people who shop sites like Temu, AliExpress and Shein are about to begin paying more. On Wednesday, Trump signed the executive order, which takes effect Aug. 29, to close the loophole for these tariffs on items worth $800 or less.\n\nIn May, Trump tried to make this change for items from China and Hong Kong, but an auto parts retailer sued the administration claiming it was illegal and hurt their business. But a federal trade court declined to hear the case on Monday, opening the door for Trump to impose the tariffs.\n\nThe executive order said that de minimis status will stay for items shipped through the United States Postal Service until adequate systems are in place to fully and expeditiously process and collect duties applicable for postal shipments otherwise eligible for duty-free de minimis treatment.\n\nPDD Holdings, the parent company of Temu, and Amazon shares dipped on the news. Amazon has a third-party marketplace that often ships from China. It also runs a low-cost storefront called Haul.\n\nIn May, Temu stopped shipping items directly from China and labeled those items \"out of stock.\" \n\nThe amount of de minimis shipments has soared this year to 309 million units. That number was 115 million for all of last year, the White House said.\n\nMore than 80% of e-commerce shipments to the United States in 2022 were de minimis purchases and came from China, and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection has reported it had processed around 4 million duty-free de minimis shipments daily. There were about 1.36 billion packages delivered to the United States over the past fiscal year that were covered by the exemption, and around 48% of de minimis items had been shipped to the poorest zip codes, while 22% went to the richest ones.\n\nThe new tariffs will also likely slow down the shipping process as importers of the cheaper products from China will now need to fill out information on each item, such as its point of origin and contents.

Trump closes de minimus tariff loophole for cheap imported items

President Donald Trump signed an executive order to close a tariff loophole for low-cost imported goods, effective August 29, 2025. This move impacts e-commerce platforms like Temu, AliExpress, and Shein, requiring shoppers to pay tariffs on items under $800. The decision follows a legal challenge by an auto parts retailer, which was dismissed by a federal trade court. The policy affects 309 million de minimis shipments this year, with 80% of U.S. e-commerce shipments in 2022 coming from China. The new tariffs will increase shipping complexity for importers.