Why is Trump ending the ‘de minimis’ tariff loophole on low-value imports?

<p>Goods worth less than $800 will be subject to 120% levy meaning prices on Chinese exports will probably increase</p><p>At one minute past midnight on Friday, eastern time, a US tariff exemption that has fuelled the rise of companies such as Shein and Temu, and stocked the wardrobes of millions of Americans with cheap fast fashion and other household goods, closed. As part of Donald Trump’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/01/trump-tariffs-pittsburgh-covid-2-0-us-economy">flurry of tariffs</a> on China, the US is closing a loophole that allowed low-value goods to be shipped into the US without paying any import fees. The “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/13/trump-tariffs-fast-fashion-prices">de minimis</a>” loophole, known by the Latin phrase for “of little importance”, was “a big scam going on against our country”, the US president said on Wednesday. “We put an end to it.”</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/02/why-is-trump-ending-de-minimis-tariff-loophole-low-value-goods">Continue reading...</a>