Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Construction of $200M Trump Ballroom at the White House to Begin in September

8 hours ago

US Senate Committee Backs $1 Billion for Ukraine in Pentagon Spending Bill

10 hours ago

Trump Says Mexico Trade Deal Extended for 90 Days

11 hours ago

Wall Street Jumps as Microsoft Enters $4 Trillion Club After Results

12 hours ago

Fresno Unified Trustee Susan Wittrup Responds to $162,000 Payout

1 day ago

Neptune to Launch a Creator-First, Customizable Algorithm Social Platform to Rival TikTok

1 day ago

Kamala Harris Will Not Run for Governor of California in 2026

1 day ago

Trump Pushes for Release of Epstein, Maxwell Grand Jury Testimony

1 day ago
How Trump Might Unwittingly Cut Emissions From Online Shopping
d8a347b41db1ddee634e2d67d08798c102ef09ac
By The New York Times
Published 4 months ago on
April 17, 2025

Shein packages ready to be shipped from a factory in Guangzhou, China, in Feb. 12, 2025. Fast fashion retailers rely heavily on shipping by air. The president’s tariffs could change that. (Gilles Sabrié/The New York Times)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Fast-fashion giants like Shein and Temu have been doing booming business in the United States in recent years, in part because of a tariff exemption that’s helped to keep prices low on packages shipped from China.

Now, President Donald Trump has ordered the loophole closed as part of new tariffs, starting with packages from China and Hong Kong. It could have the effect, probably unintended, of putting a dent in global airfreight emissions linked to the fashion industry.

Last year, 1.36 billion packages entered the United States through that loophole, which is known as the de minimis exemption and allows goods worth less than $800 to enter the country without tariffs. The largest source of shipments under the exemption was China, and most of those packages crossed the ocean by plane, according to data from Customs and Border Protection.

And that means a lot of planet-warming emissions: Flying a package across the sea is 68 times more carbon-intensive than shipping it by ocean freight, according to the Climate Action Accelerator, a nonprofit group based in Switzerland.

A $23 Billion Business

Many countries allow shipments below a certain value to cross their borders untaxed. In Europe, the threshold is 150 euros ($170). In Argentina, it’s $400. Since 2016, when Congress last increased the de minimis exemption in a bipartisan vote, the U.S. has drawn the line at $800.

These policies help simplify the customs process for small packages and prevent bottlenecks at the border. But the U.S. exemption has also opened the door wide for foreign e-commerce platforms to compete on price with domestic retailers like Amazon and Walmart.

That’s helped Shein to carve out a U.S. niche in low-cost apparel. The company gets another boost from “haul” videos on social media, in which buyers show off their purchases. And Temu, an e-commerce platform that encouraged customers to “shop like a billionaire” in a Super Bowl commercial last year, was the most-downloaded app in Apple’s U.S. app store in 2023 and 2024.

Annual de minimis shipments to the U.S. have increased nearly tenfold in the past decade or so, rising to 1.36 billion in 2024 from 140 million in 2013. According to estimates from China’s national customs office, small packages sent to the United States were worth about $23 billion last year.

President Joe Biden announced a crackdown on these shipments last fall, citing concerns about health and safety compliance, potential contraband like fentanyl, and intellectual property rights.

Trump also briefly ordered an end to de minimis exemptions in February, but reinstated the rule a few days later amid concerns about implementation. He announced the end of the exemption again in April as part of his broader tariff package.

The new rules will be phased in over the coming weeks, with the steepest levies to take effect June 1. The Trump administration has proposed fees of up to $200 per package or 120% of the package value, with the carrier choosing which option to apply, on shipments from Hong Kong and mainland China.

A Billion Packages, Plus Greenhouse Gases

Before the pandemic, airfreight was largely used for perishable goods, said Josh Archer, a senior global corporate campaigner at Stand.Earth, an environmental nonprofit group. That was in part because shipping by air, while more expensive, is faster than shipping by sea. But Amazon’s introduction of one-day shipping changed consumers’ expectations about how fast their packages should arrive, and other retailers ramped up their use of air cargo to compete.

Airfreight emissions grew by 25% between 2019 and 2023, according to Archer’s research.

In 2024, more than 1 billion packages entered the U.S. via airfreight under the de minimis exemption, or roughly eight per household. Last year, Cargo Facts Consulting estimated that Temu, Shein, Alibaba.com and TikTok were flying the equivalent of about 108 Boeing 777 cargo planes full of packages every day.

“It’s just been an absolute explosion in the sector that we don’t really have a solution for decarbonizing,” Archer said.

Neither Shein nor Temu responded to requests for comment.

What’s Next?

Trump’s abortive attempt to close the loophole back in February offered a glimpse of what might happen.

After he announced the end of the exemption, sales on Shein started dropping. Three days later, they were down 41% compared with the same day a week before, according to a Bloomberg Second Measure analysis of credit and debit card data. Temu saw similar, though smaller, declines in sales.

The change may shake up e-commerce even if sales don’t take a hit: Companies could shift to sending much bigger shipments to U.S. warehouses by ocean freight rather than mailing individual packages on demand. That could mean lower tariffs, with a potential side benefit of lower emissions, too.

Temu is already doing this, and has said about half the products ordered in the U.S. are delivered from domestic warehouses.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Claire Brown/Gilles Sabrié
c. 2025 The New York Times Company

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump Sets 10% to 41% ‘Reciprocal’ Tariffs on Dozens of Countries’ Exports

DON'T MISS

Fresno Fire Displaces Family of Three, Pets Rescued

DON'T MISS

Measure C Advisory Group Still Squabbling but Agrees on Mission Statement

DON'T MISS

Adopt Eevee and She’ll Bring Sunshine Into Your Life

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Arrest Suspect, Recover Firearms and Drugs in Fowler

DON'T MISS

Countries With No Trade Deal Will Hear From US by Midnight, White House Says

DON'T MISS

Trump’s Envoy Meets Netanyahu for Gaza Aid, Ceasefire Push

DON'T MISS

Fresno’s $100M Warehouse Project Means Big Things for City: Dyer

DON'T MISS

Construction of $200M Trump Ballroom at the White House to Begin in September

DON'T MISS

Tulare County Fire Responds to Three-Alarm Fire at Commercial Building Near Tipton

UP NEXT

Fresno Fire Displaces Family of Three, Pets Rescued

UP NEXT

Measure C Advisory Group Still Squabbling but Agrees on Mission Statement

UP NEXT

Adopt Eevee and She’ll Bring Sunshine Into Your Life

UP NEXT

Fresno County Authorities Arrest Suspect, Recover Firearms and Drugs in Fowler

UP NEXT

Countries With No Trade Deal Will Hear From US by Midnight, White House Says

UP NEXT

Trump’s Envoy Meets Netanyahu for Gaza Aid, Ceasefire Push

UP NEXT

Fresno’s $100M Warehouse Project Means Big Things for City: Dyer

UP NEXT

Construction of $200M Trump Ballroom at the White House to Begin in September

UP NEXT

Tulare County Fire Responds to Three-Alarm Fire at Commercial Building Near Tipton

UP NEXT

If Texas Gerrymanders Its House Districts, Costa Says California Must Follow Suit

Adopt Eevee and She’ll Bring Sunshine Into Your Life

6 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Arrest Suspect, Recover Firearms and Drugs in Fowler

6 hours ago

Countries With No Trade Deal Will Hear From US by Midnight, White House Says

6 hours ago

Trump’s Envoy Meets Netanyahu for Gaza Aid, Ceasefire Push

7 hours ago

Fresno’s $100M Warehouse Project Means Big Things for City: Dyer

8 hours ago

Construction of $200M Trump Ballroom at the White House to Begin in September

8 hours ago

Tulare County Fire Responds to Three-Alarm Fire at Commercial Building Near Tipton

9 hours ago

If Texas Gerrymanders Its House Districts, Costa Says California Must Follow Suit

9 hours ago

Yosemite’s Largest Campground Reopens Friday After $26.2 Million Renovation

10 hours ago

Two Men Shot During Fight at Tulare Apartment Complex

10 hours ago

Trump Sets 10% to 41% ‘Reciprocal’ Tariffs on Dozens of Countries’ Exports

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday imposing reciprocal tariffs ranging from 10% to 41% on U.S. imports from dozens...

3 hours ago

President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 8, 2025. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
3 hours ago

Trump Sets 10% to 41% ‘Reciprocal’ Tariffs on Dozens of Countries’ Exports

A fire sparked by oily rags displaced a Fresno family and damaged their home Thursday, July 31, 2025, but firefighters rescued three dogs, a chameleon, and a turtle with no injuries reported. (Fresno FD)
5 hours ago

Fresno Fire Displaces Family of Three, Pets Rescued

Measure C MeasureC Highway 41 HWY41 Transportation tax (GV Wire Composite/Paul Marshall)
5 hours ago

Measure C Advisory Group Still Squabbling but Agrees on Mission Statement

Eevee Is GV Wire's Adoptable Cat of the Week, July 31, 2025
6 hours ago

Adopt Eevee and She’ll Bring Sunshine Into Your Life

Fresno County authorities helped Fowler police arrest a suspect on Thursday, July 31, 2025, and seize stolen firearms, drugs, ammunition, and cash following a grand theft investigation. (Fowler PD)
6 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Arrest Suspect, Recover Firearms and Drugs in Fowler

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 31, 2025. (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)
6 hours ago

Countries With No Trade Deal Will Hear From US by Midnight, White House Says

Palestinians carry aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, July 30, 2025. (Reuters File)
7 hours ago

Trump’s Envoy Meets Netanyahu for Gaza Aid, Ceasefire Push

8 hours ago

Fresno’s $100M Warehouse Project Means Big Things for City: Dyer

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend