American trade rule that spared packages valued below $800 from tariffs. Chinese companies, including Shein and Temu, sold around $50bn worth of goods in America under the exemption in 2024, equal to about 11% of all Chinese exports to the country.
The Trump administration eliminated the exemption for Chinese wares on May 2nd 2025, imposing tariffs or flat fees on postal packages and higher rates on goods shipped via other means. The removal hurt Alphabet's and Meta's advertising businesses, which had benefited from ad spending by Chinese e-commerce firms. Some European countries have also considered nixing their own small-parcel exemptions.
Mother is the invention of necessity.