Just two days after President Trump introduced a 10% tariff on goods imported from China, shipping companies are warning of potential delays and new charges for senders and recipients. The removal of the 'de minimis' exemption, which previously allowed shipments valued below $800 to avoid import taxes and duties, has added complexity to the shipping process.

The change means that previously duty-free shipments now incur the new 10% tariff, all prior import taxes, and potentially additional fees charged by shipping companies for the inconvenience. With 1.6 billion shipments into the US under de minimis in 2024, this change is expected to impact a significant number of parcels, requiring additional inspections, handling, and paperwork.

So far, major US shipping companies and couriers have avoided publishing official guidance on what senders and recipients should expect. The US Postal Service briefly suspended accepting packages from China or Hong Kong on Tuesday, retracting the decision less than a day later. The service now only warns of "disruption" to deliveries and is working on "an efficient collection mechanism for the new China tariffs."

UPS similarly warns that shipments to the US from China and Hong Kong "may experience delays." The company has suspended its Service Guarantee for deliveries from those countries to the US until further notice, meaning it won't commit to making deliveries within a set time frame. UPS claims "contingency plans" are in place to help keep deliveries on schedule.

FedEx has made no public statement on the risk of delays or likely charges, only telling Bloomberg that shipments are continuing between China and the US. DHL, however, has admitted to Bloomberg that "there may be additional time and fees involved in sending items." Those charges appear to have already begun reaching consumers, with multiple people claiming to have received payment requests for import duties and handling fees from DHL.

Keyboard company Qwertykeys has even announced a 72-hour suspension of its own shipments out of China, claiming that DHL "now requires prepayment of 50% of the declared product value as a tariff deposit, plus a $21 processing fee per package." Qwertykeys says it is hoping to negotiate with DHL for "fairer tariff-handling solutions."

Retailers that use Shein and Temu, two e-commerce sites that made heavy use of the de minimis exemption to ship goods directly to US consumers, also report being asked to pay tariff deposits. Bloomberg reports that Chinese retailers have been asked to pay a deposit worth 30% of the value of goods bound for the US and warned that actual customs charges may be even higher.

Industry experts warn that consumers are likely to bear the cost of these changes. Oxford Economics research last year on two similar bills to reduce China's access to the de minimis exemption estimated a 40-55% increase in end prices for consumers, in addition to substantial new costs for US Customs and Border Protection.

The impact of these changes is still unfolding, but one thing is clear: shipping from China to the US just got more complicated, and consumers will likely feel the effects in their wallets.