The US is following in Europe's footsteps and cracking down on imports of cheap Chinese goods sold by companies like Temu and Shein, saying the companies are no longer exempt from tariffs simply for shipping products they claim are worth less than $800.

The US will no longer exclude such "cheap" imports from tariffs, under a proposed rule released Friday to tax all imports if they are covered by Sections 201 or 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, or Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.

Importers, mainly from China, have used the exemption for "de minimis" shipments of $800 or less to flood the US market. According to a White House statement, the number of such shipments has risen from 140 million annually to more than 1 billion a year. Authorities attribute this increase mainly to Chinese companies, with Shein and Temu being the biggest beneficiaries of this policy.

Specifically, the rules announced by President Joe Biden's government include increased reporting requirements to make it easier for US Customs and Border Protection agents to identify dangerous or illicit products, such as chemical precursors that can be converted into opioids like fentanyl. In this regard, Daleep Singh, deputy national security adviser to the White House, explained that the increase in the number of illegal or unsafe shipments has made a change in regulations necessary: ​​"It is increasingly difficult to identify and stop these shipments, so we are taking steps to curb the abuse of this exemption."

In parallel, Gina Raimondo, US Secretary of Commerce, noted that "American workers and companies must compete on equal terms, something that Chinese platforms have avoided by taking advantage of tax benefits."

The announcement came two days after Democratic lawmakers called on President Biden to use his executive powers to close what they consider a “loophole” that has allowed Chinese imports to evade tariffs and ship products without proper customs inspection.

In addition, on the same day of the announcement, the US administration imposed sharp tariff increases on Chinese imports, affecting key sectors such as electric vehicles, semiconductors and lithium-ion batteries. These measures are in addition to the review of the small package exemption, a rule that has existed in the United States since 1930, and whose threshold was raised from $200 to $800 in 2015 to benefit small businesses, including those that sell on marketplaces such as eBay.

According to the Reuters news agency, Shein reacted to the US measure by reaffirming the statements made last year by its CEO Donald Tang, in which he requested a "de minimis" reform to "create a level and transparent playing field in which the rules are applied uniformly and equitably."

The news punished the shares of PDD Holdings, owner of Temu, on the stock market, whose shares fell by around 3%, although the company said that "its growth does not depend on the exemption." "We are reviewing the new rules and remain committed to providing value to consumers," said a spokesperson.

Shein, valued at more than 60 billion dollars in its last round of financing, is preparing its jump to the stock market and the latest estimates pointed to sales of more than 30 billion dollars per year. For its part, Temu has become the e-commerce that has grown the most in Spain, where it has almost 10 million monthly users. EU also wants to crack down on cheap products from Temu and Shein

At the beginning of July, the Financial Times reported that the European Commission (EC) was considering applying tariffs to low-cost products from China, a regulation also mainly focused on controlling the influx of products from the aforementioned platforms. Currently, European rules indicate that products under 150 euros can be imported into the bloc duty-free from non-EU countries. While for products that exceed this threshold, the percentage or rate varies depending on the type of merchandise.

The EC reported that last year the European Union imported up to 2.3 billion in items that cost less than 150 euros and were therefore duty-free. In addition, they noted that sales of these platforms in Europe have been doubling year after year, and in April more than 350,000 products were purchased.

https://ecommerce-news.es/ee-uu-impone-medidas-arancelarias-a-temu-y-shein/