The latest executive order released by the White House in the United States will completely put an end to the "duty - free dividend era" on which cross - border e - commerce depends. Starting from May 2, 2025, all low - value goods from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong region will bid farewell to the T86 simplified customs clearance mode and fully switch to the formal customs declaration process. This is not only a technical adjustment of the customs clearance rules, but also a key move in the reshaping of the global trade pattern.

The Deep-seated Motivations behind the Policy The abolition of the T86 policy is not an isolated incident, but rather a continuation and escalation of US trade protectionism. Data shows that in the import value of cross-border e-commerce in the United States in 2024, Chinese goods accounted for as high as 47%, among which more than 60% of the packages were cleared through the T86 customs clearance mode. The Trump administration regarded the prosperity of cross-border e-commerce as a hidden channel for "Made in China" to penetrate the US market, believing that the duty-free quota of less than $800 had become a precise opening for Chinese platforms such as Shein and Temu to bypass tariff barriers. When traditional manufacturing industries are under pressure due to low-priced Chinese goods, this kind of "invisible dumping" naturally becomes a new target in political games.

It is worth noting that the United States has made multiple attempts to cancel the T86 policy in the past. In 2024, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) put forward a proposal, demanding that most Chinese products be excluded from the scope of small-value exemptions. On February 1, 2025, Trump signed an executive order to cancel the T86 policy. However, due to the insufficient processing capacity of the customs system, there was a backlog of packages and a paralysis of logistics. As a result, the policy was urgently suspended on February 7. Such repeated adjustments further highlight the contradictions and lack of preparation in the formulation of US policies.