On May 12, 2025, a source familiar with the matter revealed to Reuters that the United States and China announced a temporary tariff reduction agreement on Monday, May 12. However, the issue of inexpensive e-commerce packages shipped from China and Hong Kong to the United States, previously benefiting from the “de minimis” exemption policy, was not addressed.
According to a decision by the Trump administration, as of May 2, the policy allowing goods priced below $800 ordered from China and Hong Kong to enter the United States duty-free has been revoked. These packages now face tariffs as high as 120%.
Trade experts noted that since this issue was not mentioned in the Monday announcement, the future direction of this policy remains unclear.
“There is currently no clear statement on how the minimum exemption threshold will be handled,” said Martin Palmer, co-founder of cross-border data service provider Hurricane Modular Commerce.
“Logically, if tariffs on other goods are reduced, then ‘de minimis’ packages should also be treated accordingly, as these goods represent a significant portion of imports from China to the U.S.”
In the past, products from Chinese factories could be directly mailed to U.S. consumers through the “de minimis” policy, leading to the rapid rise in popularity of fast-fashion e-commerce platforms like Temu and Shein. They expanded their market rapidly by selling extremely low-priced electronic products, clothing, and accessories.
The U.S. government, members of Congress, and officials from U.S. Customs and Border Protection have all opposed this trade policy, largely due to the influx of prohibited items entering the U.S. through low-cost packages.
In an announcement on April 3, the White House stated regarding the cancellation of the “de minimis” exemption for packages from China and Hong Kong: “President Trump’s goal is to address deceptive shipping practices by Chinese shippers, many of whom conceal illegal substances (including synthetic opioids) in low-value packages to exploit the minimum exemption policy.”
According to the joint statement released on Monday, starting from Wednesday, May 14, bilateral “equal tariffs” between the U.S. and China will be reduced from the original 125% to 10%. However, the U.S. will maintain a 20% “fentanyl tariff” on Chinese goods, resulting in an overall decrease in U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods to approximately 30%.