US ends tariff exemption for all low-value packages
Under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump, packages valued at or under $800 sent to the US outside of the international postal network will now face "all applicable duties" starting on August 29, the White House said.
Trump earlier targeted packages from China and Hong Kong. The tax and spending bill recently signed by Trump repealed the legal basis for the de minimis exemption worldwide starting on July 1, 2027.
"Trump is acting more quickly to suspend the de minimis exemption than the OBBBA requires, to deal with national emergencies and save American lives and businesses now," the White House said, referring to the bill known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Goods shipped through the postal system will face one of two tariffs: either an "ad valorem duty" equal to the effective tariff rate of the package's country of origin or, for six months, a specific tariff of $80 to $200 depending on the country of origin's tariff rate.
Between 2015 and 2024, the annual volume of de minimis shipments entering the US increased from 134 million shipments to over 1.36 billion shipments. US Customs processes over 4 million daily de minimis shipments.
This month, Reuters reported air cargo shipment volume from Asia has declined by 10.7% since the US canceled the tax-free exemption for low-value packages from China early in May.
Since May 2, however, shipments sent from China and Hong Kong have been taxed at a rate initially as high as 145% before settling to as low as 30% after a mid-May trade detente between the US and China.
Low-value e-commerce out of Asia has been making up an increasing proportion of global air freight and boosting airlines' cargo businesses.
Last year such shipments—at 1.2 million metric tons—made up 55% of goods shipped from China to the US by air compared to just 5% in 2018. They have been used by companies like low-cost e-commerce platforms such as Shein and PDD's PDD.O Temu.
Republican US Senator Jim Banks of Indiana praised the action, saying "for too long, countries like China have flooded our markets with duty-free, cheap imports." — Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
GMA Network
11 hours ago
- GMA Network
Israel plan to control Gaza City risks ‘another calamity' —UN official
Mourners react next to the bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli fire while seeking aid on Saturday, according to medics, during a funeral in Gaza City, August 10, 2025. REUTERS/ Mahmoud Issa UNITED NATIONS — A UN official on Sunday warned the Security Council that Israel's plans to control Gaza City risked "another calamity" with far-reaching consequences as Benjamin Netanyahu insisted his goal was not to occupy the territory. The United Nations Security Council held a rare emergency weekend meeting after Israel said its military would "take control" of Gaza City in a plan approved by Prime Minister Netanyahu's security cabinet that sparked a wave of global criticism. "If these plans are implemented, they will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza, reverberating across the region and causing further forced displacement, killings, and destruction," UN Assistant Secretary General Miroslav Jenca told the Security Council. Britain, a close ally of Israel which nonetheless pushed for an emergency meeting on the crisis, warned the Israeli plan risked prolonging the conflict. "It will only deepen the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. This is not a path to resolution. It is a path to more bloodshed," said British deputy ambassador to the UN James Kariuki. But Netanyahu said Sunday his country was "talking in terms of a fairly short timetable because we want to bring the war to an end," as he insisted Israel did not want to occupy Gaza. Outside the meeting at UN headquarters in New York, a small but noisy protest calling for an end to the conflict was met by a large police presence. Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour said Friday that "this escalation by the Israeli government is going in total contradiction to the will of the international community." The United States, a veto-wielding permanent member of the Security Council, is likely to seek to shield its staunch ally Israel from any practical measure of UN censure. Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, said ahead of the meeting that "Israel will not stop fighting for the release of all the hostages—and ensuring the safety and security of our citizens is our duty." — Agence France-Presse
GMA Network
21 hours ago
- GMA Network
Thai soldiers injured by landmine near Cambodia amid fragile ceasefire
The incident on Saturday is the third time in a few weeks that Thai soldiers have been injured by mines while patrolling along the border. BANGKOK - Three Thai soldiers were injured by a landmine near the Cambodian border on Saturday, the Thai army said, days after the Southeast Asian neighbors agreed to a detailed ceasefire halting last month's deadly five-day conflict. One soldier lost a foot and two were injured after one of them stepped on a landmine while patrolling an area between Thailand's Sisaket and Cambodia's Preah Vihear provinces, the army said in a statement. The soldiers were being treated at a hospital, it said. Thailand said the incident occurred in an area of its territory recently cleared of landmines. The foreign ministry said Bangkok would lodge a complaint against Cambodia for violating a treaty, to which both are signatories, that bans the use of landmines and for infringing Thai sovereignty. Cambodia rejected Thailand's accusation, saying that it had not freshly planted landmines. The country is a "proud state party" to the Ottawa Convention against landmines and has cleared more than 1 million mines left from decades of war, the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority said in a statement late on Saturday, adding that Thailand's accusations risked undermining the spirit of the ceasefire. Bangkok and Phnom Penh have quarrelled for decades over undemarcated parts of their 817-km (508-mile) land border, which was first mapped by France in 1907 when Cambodia was its colony. Saturday's incident is the third time in a few weeks that Thai soldiers have been injured by mines while patrolling along the border. Two previous incidents led to the downgrading of diplomatic relations and triggered the clashes. The July 24-28 clashes, the worst fighting between the countries in more than a decade, involved exchanges of artillery fire and jet fighter sorties that killed at least 43 and left over 300,000 people displaced on both sides. The fragile ceasefire has been holding since Thailand and Cambodia agreed on Thursday to let observers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations inspect disputed border areas to ensure hostilities do not resume. Bangkok accused Cambodia of planting landmines on the Thai side of the disputed border that injured soldiers on July 16 and July 23. Phnom Penh denied it had placed any new mines, saying the soldiers had veered off agreed routes and triggered old landmines left from its decades of war. —Reuters
GMA Network
a day ago
- GMA Network
Thousands rally in Tel Aviv against Netanyahu's new Gaza plan, demand release of hostages
Demonstrators attend a protest demanding the immediate release of the hostages kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, and the end of the war, in Tel Aviv, Israel, August 9, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen TEL AVIV - Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday night to oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to escalate the nearly two-year Gaza war, demanding an immediate end to the campaign and for the release of the hostages. A day earlier, the prime minister's office said the security cabinet, a small group of senior ministers, had decided to seize Gaza City, expanding military operations in the devastated Palestinian territory despite widespread public opposition and warnings from the military the move could endanger the hostages. "This isn't just a military decision. It could be a death sentence for the people we love most," Lishay Miran Lavi, the wife of hostage Omri Miran told the rally, pleading to US President Donald Trump to intervene to immediately end the war. Public opinion polls show an overwhelming majority of Israelis favor an immediate end to the war to secure the release of the remaining 50 hostages held by militants in Gaza. Israeli officials believe about 20 hostages are still alive. The Israeli government has faced sharp criticism at home and abroad, including from some of its closest European allies, over the announcement that the military would expand the war. The full cabinet is expected to give its approval as soon as Sunday. Most of the hostages who have been freed so far emerged as a result of diplomatic negotiations. Talks toward a ceasefire that could have seen more hostages released collapsed in July. "They (the government) are fanatic. They are doing things against the interests of the country," said Rami Dar, 69-year-old retiree, who traveled from a nearby suburb outside of Tel Aviv, echoing calls for Trump to force a deal for the hostages. Tel Aviv has seen frequent rallies urging the government to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas, who ignited the war with their October 2023 attack. Saturday's demonstration attracted over 100,000 protesters, according to organizers. "Frankly, I'm not an expert or anything, but I feel that after two years of fighting there has been no success," said Yana, 45, who attended the rally with her husband and two children. "I wonder whether additional lives for both sides, not just the Israelis but also Gazans, will make any difference." Around 1,200, mostly Israelis, were killed and 251 were taken into Gaza during Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. More than 400 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since then. Protesters waved Israeli flags and carried placards bearing the images of hostages. Others held signs directing anger at the government or urging Trump to take action to stop Netanyahu from moving forward with plans to escalate the war. A small number of protesters held images of Gazan children killed by the military. Israel's military has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians in the war, according to the Gazan health ministry, which said on Saturday that at least 39 had been killed in the past day. Some of the prime minister's far-right coalition allies have been pushing for a total takeover of Gaza. The military has warned this could endanger the lives of the hostages in Gaza. Far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich, a proponent of continuing the war, issued a statement on Saturday criticizing Netanyahu and called for the annexation of large parts of Gaza. Netanyahu told Fox News in an interview that aired on Thursday that the military intended to take control of all of Gaza but that Israel did not want to keep the territory. The announcement from the prime minister's office early on Friday said the military would take Gaza City, but did not explicitly say if Israeli forces would take all of the enclave. Tal, a 55-year-old high school teacher, told Reuters at the rally in Tel Aviv that expanding the war was 'terrible,' warning it would result in the deaths of both soldiers and hostages and insisting that the war should end with the military withdrawing. "We don't have anything to do there. It's not ours." —Reuters
