China Commission urges Congress to end de minimis for e-com shipments

It also called for revoking China’s permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status.

China’s PNTR status, in place since the country joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2001, has offered it the same benefits and trade terms as US allies for more than two decades.

If revoked, China would be subject to annual reviews of its trade practices—and “a shift toward a more assertive trade policy aimed at protecting US industries and workers from economic coercion,” the Commission wrote in its annual findings and recommendations released recently.

The Commission investigates and assesses China’s trade behaviour and reports on potential risks to US interests.

Section 321 of the Tariff Act has created a superhighway for cheap and dangerous products to reach American shoppers, allowing them to circumvent tariffs and regulatory scrutiny, the report noted, and the situation has impeded US government efforts to ensure the safety and regulatory compliance of consumer goods.

At a recent hearing in Washington, head of the Commission Jacob Helberg said a repeal of PNTR would give the president “the flexibility to recalibrate America’s trading relationship with China” in light of its failure to comply with its WTO commitments.

“Our Commission’s bipartisan report recommends to Congress to immediately eliminate de minimis exemption for any product coming in through e-commerce. This is an important and critical recommendation; it is our top two in terms of recommendations,” Helberg and National Council of Textile Organiations lead Kim Glas said at the hearing.

Meanwhile, channels like Shein and Temu, “combined with China’s reinvigorated focus on export manufacturing as a pillar of economic growth, mean that Chinese factories will remain major suppliers across the consumer products space,” the report said.

The United States is currently a key facilitator of that growth, taking in a total of 4 million de minimis parcels each day, many originating from China.

“Holding Chinese manufacturers and exporters accountable remains challenging—if not virtually impossible—under the Xi regime,” the Commission wrote.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)