I’m sure your news feed has been filled with news about tariffs and how they affect your pocket. Get ready, then, for even more increases, because tariffs just became a lot more wide-reaching.

Today is May 2nd, which is the date when Executive Order 14256, signed by US President Donald Trump last month on April 2nd, enters into effect. This is one of many executive actions directed at reshaping the US’s larger trade policy, but it’s probably one of the most disastrous since it ends de minimis treatment for packages coming from China. In case you don’t know what de minimis is, it’s a tax exemption first established in 1938 that establishes that packages coming into the country under a certain amount (packages valued at or below $800) would be able to go through customs duty-free and, for the most part, free of inspections.

The removal of this exemption means that tariffs and processing fees will, henceforth, apply to previously exempt items—all packages coming into the country from China, big or small, will be subject to tariffs, even tiny one-item packages. That cheap mouse you bought on AliExpress a couple of weeks ago that has yet to ship? It will be hit with a tariff. Depending on what you’re bringing into the country, the amounts might be insane—as per CBP guidelines, goods coming into the country might be subject to either a $100 flat fee or 120% of the value of the product. And that’s not to mention the fact that everything will overall take longer because even the small stuff will be subject to inspections upon entering the US—that’s going to add to shipping times, and it could also mean that a lot more packages will be seized.

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The tariffs seem to be after everyone.

Companies like Shein, Temu, or AliExpress have thrived in the US thanks to this exemption, since it allowed individual packages shipped into the US by customers to enter the country without any import duties. Even some stuff on Amazon ships directly from China, and there’s not usually an issue with that. All users had to do was pay shipping, and that was pretty much it.

All of these companies have already adjusted to tariffs and have continued selling their items to US customers, though tariffs have meant that all items are now significantly more expensive if they’re shipping from China. The de minimis exemption ending just solidifies these measures, and it could drive up shipping prices even further. The additional inspections might spell trouble for some items, too—if anything’s considered counterfeit or off-brand by customs, it could be seized. It’s a bummer, but it’s what we have right now.

As this exemption ends, get ready for a lot of previously cheap items to become more expensive, especially those from smaller businesses.

Source: The White House