Think about it. We’ve already heard about the massive stoppages of April factory work in China, causing serious concern for Beijing and Chinese worker protests.
American importers front loaded inventory in February and March with a 50% increase in orders. Now, in addition to those factories going quiet, the de minimis rule kicks in.
(Via CNBC) – Chinese bargain retailer Temu changed its business model in the U.S. as the Trump administration’s new rules on low-value shipments took effect Friday.
In recent days, Temu has abruptly shifted its website and app to only display listings for products shipped from U.S.-based warehouses. Items shipped directly from China, which previously blanketed the site, are now labeled as out of stock.
Temu made a name for itself in the U.S. as a destination for ultra-discounted items shipped direct from China, such as $5 sneakers and $1.50 garlic presses. It’s been able to keep prices low because of the so-called de minimis rule, which has allowed items worth $800 or less to enter the country duty-free since 2016.
The loophole expired Friday at 12:01 a.m. EDT as a result of an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in April. (more)
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]
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.
Yep, this is only the beginning.
so now the beneficiaries of this policy is Walmart, Amazon.
great…terrific.
same exact product.
but now expect these “US” retailers to be the only way to buy Chinese “crap”…
yeah..no, this isn’t winning.
remind me in a month when you start getting the reality check that Walmart and Amazon have just mysteriously, out of the blue starting charging you more and more for the same damned stuff you thought these so called tarrifs “should have” brought the price down.
you know who this is going to hurt..your wallet..
there is no such thing as US manufacturing that will somehow going to miraculously materialize and give China a run for its money.
again. THESE ARE THE SAME EXACT PRODUCTS< MANUFACTURED AND SOLD BY CHINA>
Only thing this tariff BS does is make Amazon and Walmart a captive market..and you have fewer choices. More middle man retails costs…and no competition.
this is about the most stupid thing this President can do . This does NOT help US consumers. It is only going to make amazon and Walmart more profitable.
why should I pay a 300 percent markup at Amazon when I can pay non retail prices direct?
answer that question…and understand what it means…and you realize you have been ripped off my “US” retailers for a very long time. Temu filled that solution..and President Trump races to protect what? certainly not US consumers! It’s benefits massively gouging mega US corporations who are in fact ANTI MAGA.
this isn’t hard math.
you will soon see it in your pocket books.
noting: I am not friend of china …but I am against ridiculous policies that force me to buy from only certain sources…that IS anti-American.
there are so many other ways to level the trade imbalance.
for example: why wouldn’t President Trump consider aiming directly at Amazon and Walmart and issuing the order: you will now be subject to 300 percent trade sanction if you buy Chinese goods and sell them into the US market?
let this sink in….it’s not hard math.
this policy is stupid. flat out absolute dumb dumb.
This is not the way to strengthen US voters..who are struggling.
I will remind a few realities that we need to start talking about…because THE TRUTH HAS NO AGENDA…RIGHT?
where IS this cheap fuel and drop in energy costs?
I sure don’t see it anywhere!!! why is this administration going on about this and that and can be easily verified as NOT TRUE!
cost of eggs and food in general…there has not been any significant prices drops. !! Again, why make the claim …?
I’m not seeing hundreds of thousands of cross tie walkers removed from the US ? why make weak leading stories about the aliens act and spend 10-100 million to deport maybe 1500 illegals. That’s a good start. But it isn’t anywhere near the level or numbers required to actually remove the 10-40 MILLION illegals. Why make boasting claims that are easily proven untrue?
today is not winning.
it’s the same damned thing as tik tok and Huawei.
if those Chinese “techs” are so dangerous to US interests…why are all the other mobile smart phone and social media companies who are also made in or heavily invested from China included in this discussion.
because this isn’t about hurting China…
it is simply policy to favor one set of companies over the other.
this is not good policy….anyone can see right through it and furthermore it will not improve the economic reality of the US consumer. it will only force less competition where Walmart and amazon come out as winners….and you will whine and complain about how much you will be spending very soon when they ramp up prices…because that is how this will play out. when there is no competition….corporations take advantage…its the oldest most well established pattern. So get ready for high prices. and please when this happens, make sure you tell the truth and not blame the competition..that you blame these stupid policies.
God Bless America
Right the hell on!
Your pessimism and scorn is exactly why we’re in the boat we’re in.
No one earlier did the right thing when China was not entrenched in our economy–which is keep them the hell out and protect our industry. Why are we here? Money that flowed from lobbyists and corporations into political coffers and campaigns all disguised by rosy legislation and corporate marketing.
Now, 4 decades or more after the fact and after a dozen administrations, it takes someone who can see a goal farther on the horizon than the cheapest good an American consumer can buy to do something about it.
America has been decimated by the boiled-frog destruction of its heartbeat, which is individual liberty, which is socially best expressed by the nation’s economic ingenuity and dominance through the unfettered talents of its citizens. Which has been grotesquely penalized by outsourcing that talent and especially outsourcing it–for money–to a tyranny whose citizenry had no talent and ingenuity precisely because of its communist lords pathological eternal enmity to those very things. The sons of Mao could never allow their citizens to think and create, but they could sure deceive and appeal to the worst instincts of American politicians and corporations.
And what did they use to boil that frog? Cheap goods, inferior products that kinda work, nothing less than the effect of corn and circus on a population.
The hell with low prices on eggs and Walmart/Amazon junk for as long as it takes to restore the Republic. If #47 can take a bullet for us, I think we can manage coughing up a few more bucks for the weekly groceries.
Have you been to Walmart this week? A friend took pictures – it looked like 2020 Covid with tons of empty shelves.
There will be hundreds of small entrepreneurs in the US who will buy bulk quantities of stuff from China, pay the tariff once spread out over thousands of units in a big shipment, and then resell it all on eBay, Craigslist, Amazon, the local flea markets or wherever.
It is still China made crap. But at least there will be some enterprising Americans able to make a cut instead of it all being direct shipped to the end buyers (with most of the shipping costs dumped onto the USPS because China only pays “developing nation” postal rates.)
I LOVE IT. I love the tariffs against China and only China.
How dare Americans ignore the slave labor practices of the Chinese, welcoming products into their homes made from the strife, loss and devastation of the Uyghurs among others.
And campaigning for poor Walmart and Amazon, who are the slave traders of today, shows a despicable type of loyalty IMO.
And Americans who let themselves become dependent on cheap Chinese goods to the point of being apocalyptic over their demise are no better than those who ignored slavery before the civil war and segregation after.
Yes! Thank you President Trump for helping reset America’s moral compass.
I don’t buy anything from Walmart or Amazon now. On purpose. Been that way since before the pandemic.
I paid $2.37 this past week at Buc-ee’s for gas in TN. Leaving Maryland earlier that day the cash price at a local station was $3.09.
Could be with more folks working, more demand for gas in some markets, prices are higher.
Supply vs. demand confuses so many people.
Be thankful you don’t pay our Ca gas prices.
Waa…waa…waa!
The US consumer can buy OR NOT BUY crap from chyna at their pleasure. My choice . . .I have decided to limit my purchasing power to things that I REALLY NEED.. Limited purchasing equals saving account growth. I’ve got ENOUGH crap !!
I think I’ll return the $20 T-shirt that I bought from China/S hehe.
🤣👍
I just went to their website. Nothing looks different.
Check out – you see the added amount at that point.
The closure of the de minimis loophole for Chinese imports, effective May 2, 2025, has had a significant impact on Amazon’s revenue in April 2025. Approximately 25% of Amazon’s self-sold products are sourced from China, making the company particularly vulnerable to the new tariffs. The elimination of the de minimis exemption means that even low-value items are now subject to tariffs. In response to these challenges, Amazon has been adjusting its strategies. The company has been pressuring suppliers to absorb some of the increased costs, canceling certain orders from China, and maintaining profit margins through cost agreements with vendors. Additionally, Amazon has been exploring alternative sourcing options and logistics strategies to mitigate the impact of the new tariffs. While the full financial impact of the de minimis closure on Amazon’s revenue in April 2025 is not yet available, the increased costs and potential for reduced consumer demand are expected to affect the company’s performance.
Amazon’s revenue for April 2025 isn’t publicly disclosed as the company reports earnings on a quarterly basis. The most recent available data is from the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, which ended on March 31, 2025. In that quarter, Amazon reported net sales of $155.7 billion, reflecting a 9% year-over-year increase. This performance surpassed analyst expectations.
The company has not provided a detailed breakdown of revenue by month, so it’s not possible to determine Amazon’s exact revenue for April 2025. However, based on the quarterly figures, Amazon’s monthly revenue would average approximately $51.9 billion, assuming even distribution across the three months.
This is not an example a huge number of folks will most likely care about but there are non unionized game and book manufacturers based entirely in the USA and they are now competitive with foreigners for the local market. Temu and similar pump out cheap plastic toys and miniatures of inferior quality to the American manufacturers who have teetered on the edge of calamity for years. They are now financially safer because their inherently higher production costs are now not producing a dramatic price difference.
Protecting locals is what tariffs do best.
Social hobbies like tabletop gaming with miniatures is a very wholesome industry. Glad to know there will be a boom for them.
I wonder if China (Temu) will start shipping through Canada?