Posted on 04/10/2025 3:41:56 PM PDT by SoConPubbie
REMINDER: The de minimis loophole comes from back in the 1930s. The idea back then was, say you went on a vacation to Paris, you shouldn’t have to file customs paperwork or pay taxes if you decided to ship some little Eiffel Tower statues to your friends back home.
Congress in 2015 then raised the de minimis threshold from $200 to $800. However, the e-commerce world exploded, and Chinese companies began using the de minimis loophole to ship cheap goods (ex. Temu and Shein) into the USA direct to consumers without paying any customs duty.
On April 2nd, as part of the global trade reset and tariff structure, President Trump revoked authorization for Chinese goods to transfer to the USA using the de minimis rule. The de minimis exemption was cancelled for all products coming out of China. The rule change only targeted China and Chinese shippers. No one else. [XO HERE]
Yesterday, as part of the modification to Executive Order #14257, President Trump has increased the baseline tariff for product mailed from China [de minimis tariff] from 30 90 percent to 120%.
Mailed products from China now face a 120% tariff. Additionally, minimum tariff amounts increased from $75 to $100 effective May 1st, and from $150 to $2oo effective June 1st. [See Section #4]
Example: If you order a $20 shirt from China effective June 1st, you will pay $220. $20 for the shirt, and $200 minimum tariff.
There is no way Chinese E-Commerce can survive this level of tariff/duty fees.
♦ SUBVERSION – The only way for the Chinese e-commerce to maneuver this, would be to extend the delivery times and transship through alternate mail and distribution centers, in other countries. Example, mail your $20 shirt to (Vietnam or Mexico or Canada) and have a distribution center then repackage and mail it to the USA. Or, far less likely, the Chinese e-commerce company can set up manufacturing centers in the 3rd party country (Vietnam, or Mexico or Canada) and make it there, not in China (not very likely at all).
President Trump is setting up bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) with each of the nations that China might attempt to use as a transshipping hub. Within those pending FTAs, there will certainly be no transshipping allowed, and trade sanctions in the FTAs as punitive punishment if they did it.
Keep watching this mail-order pressure point, because it’s likely to be more substantive -albeit less visible- than the manufacturing tariffs applied toward China directly.
“From FR reporting, the USPS subsidize mail from China to the US.”
Your “FR reporting” in incorrect. That was fixed in Trump’s FIRST term.
They send it by boat and then when it hits port it goes USPS.
Just when I started using AliExpress rather heavily. Same stuff as Amazon, 1/2 price.
Oh well, MAGA!!!!
he just wants trade Wars
to end.
//////
on terms that are good deals for the USA. Otherwise why bother? (this trade war hurts the chinese more than it does the USA. Plus this trade war either going to accelerate the invasion of Taiwan—or stop it completely.)
Ever buy anything from Harbor Freight, Walmart or Amazon?
> shipping went insane
eBay shipping really is a ripoff.
I’ve worked with a vendor or two that does a lot better than eBay’s defaults.
Most vendors seem lazy or a little slow.
its garbage products anyway.
> To send it back was $150.
1. pay attention to the return policy and terms. Free returns actually work at these places.
2. use a credit card and dispute the charge if the vendor violates their own policy
I’m not impressed that you ate the $150. Bad example.
Yes, but on Amazon I know to steer clear of non-Prime items which are offered for pennies on the dollar. Those will take months to deliver from China, and good luck returning them.
Every time I’m faced with nothing but made in China cheap azz slave labor junk, I curse those sell out traitors in D.C.
This will be the first thing to go.
This will not go well for LC Signs and our homey Tony the salesman on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/shorts/4Xt3x3qeVAY
I did dispute it. But I had attempted to return it. They used some legerdemain to dispute my dispute. I hadn’t returned it as the cost was prohibitive. I ate $20.
I am a more sophisticated customer now. Live and learn.
My point is, they get to mail for free and we don’t. A gift from Clinton, I think. I really wish politicians could be prosecuted for things like this. I’m willing to bet some contributions got to him from China.
The international shipping is highly subsidized, so, yes, it was a lot cheaper to ship stuff from China than from Indianapolis. With no tariffs and no taxes, it was really hard to compete with Chinese mail orders.
China created a bioweapon that killed MILLIONS all in order to gain power and destroy Trump’s presidency so yeah, I want China to burn
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This to the n’th degree. BUT...there seem to be some dumb a$$es here who hate Trump so much, they are willing to not only get in bed with China but to bend over for them.
Well, that may explain it.
I ordered a small amateur radio part, under $20, in the first two weeks of March. It shipped, expected delivery about March 29th.
It made it to the local mail distribution center, but has been hung up for the last ten days. USPS keeps extending the delivery time. No sure if it will ever show up if there’s a 125% tariff.
I’ve seen some great deals on Amazon too, a robotic vacuum for $80, marked down from $200. My guess is they want to get rid of inventory on hand.
Temu is probably number-one in the junk products lineup. Not really satisfied doing business with them, LONG wait between ordering and receiving the product, and it generally ends up in the junk drawer after a brief attempt to make it work according to the instructions. If you even understand the syntax in which those instructions are written.
COVID is one of many bioweapons.
The others will be worse.
I am sorry they ripped you off. My experience with the credit card company I use is that they are very responsive and usually go along with my disputes. You do have them as a last resort when the seller uses tricks to deny you a refund.
Thank you for discussing FRiend.
I understand. So far things have gone well with AliExpress. They know I have recourse via the CC company.
My only point is when you are just about ready to push the order button on Amazon, check AliExpress for exactly the same item.
It’s all coming from China. Even good old American brands that some guys are still proud of buying.
It is ridiculous and Trump is trying mightily to change it. I’m MAGA even if I can’t buy anything more from the shit fairy.
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