BEIJING: The United States government’s latest move to eliminate a “de minimis” tariff exemption for small packages and low-value items imported from China will disrupt the normal international trade order, wreak havoc in the fast-growing cross-border e-commerce industry, and ultimately hurt the interests of US consumers, said experts and industry insiders.
They added that in order to mitigate the negative impacts of escalating trade protectionism, China’s cross-border online retailers should strengthen the establishment of overseas warehouses, accelerate the localization of supply chains and operations, and diversify their business layouts in emerging markets.
Their comments came on the heels of the US decision to halt a trade exemption, known as “de minimis”, that allows exporters to ship packages worth less than $800 into the US duty-free. The decision came as part of the announcement of the imposition of an additional 10 percent tariff on goods from China.
The US Postal Service said on Tuesday that it had temporarily stopped accepting packages from the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, a move that may block or delay parcels from Chinese cross-border e-commerce platforms including Shein and PDD Holdings’ Temu, as well as some from Amazon, from entering the US. However, the agency said later in a notice that it will resume accepting packages from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong starting on Wednesday. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
