President Donald Trump signed an executive order on May 12 to reduce the tariff on low-value parcels from China and Hong Kong, following an agreement reached between the United States and China to cut reciprocal tariffs for 90 days.
The order states that “de minimis” shipments—or parcels valued below $800—from China and Hong Kong will see their duty rate reduced from 120 percent to 54 percent, starting May 14. The United States will retain a flat fee of $100 per postal item, according to the order.
Trump had previously moved to close the “de minimis loophole”—which allowed entry of low-value shipments into the United States without duties—in February as part of an effort to curb the flow of fentanyl and its chemical precursor into the country. The president subsequently raised the duty rate for those shipments from China to 120 percent, which took effect on May 2….