Chinese e-commerce giants use the ‘de minimis’ exemption to cheaply ship products directly to consumers — now the Biden administration is pushing to change that.

In his announcement proposing to crack down on "unsafe, unfairly traded products," President Joe Biden accused China-founded e-commerce platforms selling cheap goods of abusing the "de minimis exemption" that makes shipments valued under $800 duty-free.

The US has proposed rules that would hit many low-value shipments from China with new taxes - a measure aimed at curbing the flood of packages from shopping sites such as Shein and Temu. The Biden administration said the plan was intended to stop "abuse" of an exemption that allowed packages worth less than $800 (£600) to enter the US without facing tariffs and other fees.