The United States temporarily postpones the cancellation of China’s duty-free policy for small packages

On February 7, local time, the White House issued a new executive order, deciding to temporarily postpone the cancellation of the “minimum” tariff exemption for small goods worth no more than $800 until the United States establishes a complete and efficient system to collect tariffs comprehensively. Previously, the United States announced that it would impose a 10% tariff on goods imported from China from February 4, and cancel the “minimum” tariff exemption for small packages.

The “minimum” tariff exemption allows small packages worth less than $800 to enter the United States duty-free, and the duty-free amount was increased from $200 to $800 in 2016. The cancellation of the “minimum” tariff exemption for small packages means that U.S. customs officials must carefully check every package entering the country, which will greatly increase the manpower, material and financial costs required for customs declaration.

It is reported that this has brought troubles and challenges to U.S. customs, logistics services and online retailers, and has led to a large backlog of packages, even affecting packages that have paid tariffs. Among them, the United States Postal Service (USPS) first announced on February 4 local time that it would suspend the acceptance of inbound packages from mainland China and Hong Kong, China, and then announced on February 5 that it would resume accepting these packages.

Some American merchants believe that the cancellation of the “minimum” tariff exemption for small packages will lead to rising commodity prices, which will eventually be passed on to American consumers and may exacerbate inflation.

On February 6, He Yongqian, spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce, said at a regular press conference that cross-border e-commerce directly meets the personalized needs of consumers, has fast delivery and saves costs, has unique advantages, and is an important trend in the development of international trade. It is hoped that the United States can follow the development trend of international trade, optimize supervision, create a fair and predictable policy environment for the development of cross-border e-commerce, and provide a more convenient, better quality and better price consumption environment for local consumers.

Although the United States has temporarily restored the “minimum” tariff exemption for small packages from China, industry insiders pointed out that the recent fluctuations in relevant policies have highlighted the uncertainty of US trade policies and the complex challenges faced by the cross-border e-commerce field between China and the United States. There is still uncertainty as to whether the United States will further tighten relevant policies in the future. Cross-border e-commerce companies should pay close attention to policy trends, actively adjust their business strategies, and explore new logistics solutions to deal with potential risks.