More than 1 billion parcels from China entered the US in 2023, with Shein and Temu likely accounting for a combined 30 per cent of that volume, according to a report by the US congressional committee on China.
Around 1.36 billion Chinese shipments entered the country in 2024, US Customs and Border Protection data showed.
Analysts say the move will be especially disruptive for smaller sellers operating through Chinese e-commerce platforms, which target US shoppers and consumers directly – a business model relying on ultra-fast, low-cost shipping to undercut US retailers.
Under the new rules, such products face not only tariffs but also customs delays, compliance hurdles, and higher logistics costs.
“It will definitely slow the (parcel screening) process and exporters will probably see their packages being stopped at the border for investigation for a very long time,” said Guo. “This would be a bigger headache which they previously did not really have to bother with.”
Chinese companies already seeing “razor-thin” profit margins would have little room to absorb additional costs, according to EIU’s Su, who adds that the new tariffs will “ultimately likely be passed on to US consumers partially after part of the cost is absorbed by US retailers”.
Over the years, some Chinese manufacturers have been rerouting shipments through Southeast Asian countries to circumvent US tariffs – leveraging free trade agreements and integrated production chains across countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia.
However, that escape route will likely no longer be a “cost-effective alternative” as nations in the region also face hefty US tariffs now hitting both ends of this supply chain.
“Rerouting Chinese exports may fail in countries like Vietnam, where exports were previously rerouted in part, and are (now) also being hit hard,” said Josef Gregory Mahoney, professor of politics and international relations at East China Normal University.
Chinese firms will likely pivot to new markets, in the months ahead, Mahoney added.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/china-us-tariffs-trump-retaliation-5041876
