The first consequences of the end of the “de minimis” rule are becoming apparent for Shein: the Chinese web platform saw its US sales fall by 8% in September now that customs duties also apply to cheap parcels.
Packages are becoming more expensive
Since August 29 of this year, an import duty has been levied on every parcel entering the US. The so-called “de minimis” exemption for parcels worth less than 800 dollars has been abolished. This has a particularly significant impact on shipments from Asian e-commerce companies: their cheap parcels suddenly became much more expensive for US consumers. This has not been without consequences: according to figures from Bloomberg, the turnover of the Chinese fashion platform Shein in the United States fell by 8% in September compared to the same month last year.
There is more bad news in store for the online player, as the United Kingdom and the European Union are also planning to abolish similar exemptions. In anticipation of this, more and more countries are pushing for additional levies on such cheap e-commerce packages. The Belgian federal government has just announced that it wants to tax packages from outside the European Union with a value of less than 150 euros with a tax of 2 euros. Such a tax would, on the one hand, benefit the local economy and, on the other hand, help to fill part of the budget deficit.
