President Trump signed an executive order announcing a temporary postponement of the tariff increase on Chinese goods under $800, which means that these goods from China and Hong Kong under $800 can continue to enter the United States duty-free for a short period of time.
The move is the latest in a series of tariff announcements and extensions this week. Earlier this week, Trump’s executive order to impose tariffs on Chinese goods required the end of the “Tariff Exemption Under $800” for China and Hong Kong from February 4 to hit retailers such as Shein, Temu and Amazon to send packages to the United States quickly and cheaply.
“Minimum tariff exemption” is a legal term that means the value of the parcels imported into the United States is not high (less than $800). Millions of e-commerce parcels from China with a value of less than $800 enter the United States every day through this tariff preference.
What is “Tariff Exemption for Goods Under $800”?
The minimum tariff exemption refers to the fact that items worth less than $800 are allowed to enter the United States duty-free. Trump’s decision to terminate the agreement has attracted widespread attention because large e-commerce companies such as Shein and Temu, as well as small retailers such as Etsy sellers and family-run shoe companies, have used the agreement to avoid tariffs on many goods sold to American consumers.
According to government data, more than 80% of U.S. e-commerce imports used this duty-free policy loophole in fiscal 2022, and more than 1.3 billion such imports were processed in 2024.
As for why the Trump administration suddenly announced a suspension of the tax on goods under $800, Ryan Petersen, CEO of logistics company Flexport, gave an answer in an email to The Washington Post on Friday: “The reality is that the infrastructure is not ready for such a big change.”
“The government is giving CBP time to build the right system.” The amendment that temporarily restored the $800 minimum exemption this week indicated that this tariff exemption may also be lifted later. A White House official described the amendment as a suspension, not permanent. The order states that such items will no longer receive duty-free treatment after the Secretary of Commerce notifies the President that there are adequate systems in place to fully and conveniently process and collect duty revenues.
