Major Trump U-turn on China tariffs after furious shoppers were hit with hefty fees

President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order that means Americans will not have to pay huge extra import fees on cheap goods from Chinese sites like Shein and Temu – for now.

The new order delays tariffs on low-cost packages from China until the Commerce Department can confirm that procedures are in place to process them and collect tariff revenue. 

Trump’s U-turn comes after shoppers had complained they were already feeling the pain of his new rules on goods imported from China, which started Tuesday.

The change, implemented with just 48 hours’ notice, also caused the US Postal Service to temporarily stop accepting packages from China and Hong Kong earlier this week. It had led to more than a million packages piling up at New York’s JFK Aiprort alone. 

Victoria Alario, a TikTok user, posted a video on Wednesday after noticing unexpected charges on her order from Meshki, a boutique clothing store that ships from China.

Her two items totaled $304, but after duties and sales tax, the final price jumped to $441.88 – including an extra $101.85 in duties.

‘This had me gasping. This caught my eye so quick because I was like, where did that come from,’ Alario said.

The extra costs she faced came as a result of Trump ending a rule that had allowed small packages from China – worth under $800 –  to enter the US duty-free. 

To stay legal, companies like Shein, Temu and Meshki began adding the import duties onto orders as Americans paid to check out their orders. 

While some of Alario’s viewers blamed tariffs, the reason here order jumped up so much was Trump’s executive order ending the ‘de minimis’ rule.

It is a century-old trade law that allows imports valued under $800 to enter the US duty-free – provided they are shipped directly to individual buyers. 

This rule has been a major advantage for retailers like Temu, Shein and Meshki, which ship directly from China and avoid various import fees.

Chinese companies had been increasingly taking advantage of this rule, prior to Trump getting rid of it. Chinese exports of low-value packages jumped to $66 billion in 2023, up from $5.3 billion in 2018. 

If it is ditched again in the future – as anticipated – it means prices will rise for Americans who buy $5 shirts, $10 lamps and $20 shoes on direct-from-China shopping sites. 

Retail experts say that regular US retailers like Walmart and Amazon, who ship items from domestic warehouses, face a disadvantage compared to their rivals who ship items directly from China and avoid various import fees.  

New tariffs and the end of ‘de minimis’ have been announced simultaneously, leading to widespread confusion since both will contribute to rising prices.

Pictured: A woman shows her receipt from DHL applying a $115 duty to her order

President Donald Trump’s stated rationale for imposing tariffs is to punish China (previously Canada and Mexico as well) for not doing enough to stem the flow of illegal migrants and to stop fentanyl from coming into the US

And it won’t just be clothes that will be affected by Trump’s new tariff and duty policies. 

The US imported $146 billion in electronic products from China in 2023, and companies like Apple and Dell manufacture a large percentage of their inventory there.

Laptops, tablets, video game consoles, smartphones and TVs are all items that will likely have noticeable price increases in the coming days and weeks.

Trump’s stated rationale for imposing tariffs is to punish China (previously Canada and Mexico as well) for not doing enough to stem the flow of illegal migrants and to stop fentanyl from coming into the US.

Canada and Mexico were spared tariffs for 30 days because they each agreed to put a larger military presence at their respective borders to cut down on the movement of drugs and people.

If these temporary agreements don’t end up holding and Trump decides to reinstate tariffs, many more products that Americans rely on every day could get more expensive.

Crude oil, gasoline, lumber, vehicles, alcohol and produce are all things the US imports from Canada and Mexico in large quantities.