Trade War Deepens After Tariff

Beijing vows to protect its companies, while the European Union announced a new fee on e-commerce imports Beijing accused the United States of “suppression”, as its postal service stated that it suspended the parcel from China and Hong Kong, a step that could hit e-commerce legends Temu and Shin. The tension between the US and China has increased in recent times as the two largest economies in the world slapped a volley of tariffs on each other’s imports, with hundreds of billions of dollars of trade. On Tuesday, the US Postal Service (USPS) also abolished a duty-free exemption for low-value packages. “D minimis” exemption allows $ 800 or below goods to enter the United States without paying duties or some taxes but has faced investigation due to increasing shipment in recent years. The US Customs and Border Protection Agency stated last month that the discount shipment in 2024 was worth more than $ 1.36 billion, causing challenges for its enforcement of business laws, health and safety requirements, intellectual property rights, and consumer protection rules. US officials have pointed to the development of Chinese-installed online retailers Shin and Tempeu as an important factor behind this growth – and on Tuesday’s halt, entering the country from both companies can delay the parcel. Beijing responded with anger for the move, accusing the US of “politicizing business and economic issues and using them as equipment”. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lynn Gian accused Washington of “unfair repression.”
Washington is looking to tighten the “de minimis” rules, stating that an increase in shipment makes it difficult to screen goods for safety risks. However, the US Postal Service did not give any reason for its break on Tuesday. AFP has reached Shin and Temu for comment. Other retailers like Amazon can also be affected. Low-cost retailers took another hit on Wednesday as the European Commission announced that it would try to impose new fees on e-commerce imports from wholesale who come from China.
Measures are part of efforts to deal with a surge of “harmful” products.

Tariff deadlock

On Tuesday, Beijing stated that it would impose the levy on the import of American energy, vehicles, and equipment, with Trump’s danger tariffs on Chinese goods since Salvo minutes since return. A day earlier, Trump suspended duties on Mexico and Canada for a month, when the two countries vowed to increase the measures for the crossing of drug fennels and the crossings of unwarded refugees in the United States. According to the calculation of capital economics, Beijing has US goods of about $ 20 billion per year – about 12 percent of the total American imports in China. But their influence is far from the US tariff declared on the weekend, which will affect some $ 450 billion in goods.

Although it previously appeared that US parcels could still be sent from Macau, by Wednesday evening, the post office of the semi-autonomous Chinese city announced that its service was also suspended. Trump had earlier indicated that the conversation with Xi might be held earlier this week, but addressing reporters at the White House on Tuesday afternoon, said he was in “No Rush”.