On Thursday, the White House announced new measures - largely aimed at Chinese e-commerce platforms such as Temu and Shein - aimed at reducing the range of low-value imports eligible for duty and tax exemptions. The new tariffs expand on Trump-era tariffs on China that the Biden administration kept in place, SCMP reports.

In 2018, then president Donald Trump imposed tariffs of 7 to 25 per cent on US$300 billion of Chinese imports under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, citing "unfair" trade practices.

His successor Joe Biden retained most of these tariffs and expanded them to include Chinese solar panels, electric vehicles and batteries – with tariffs on electric vehicles reaching up to 100 per cent. -SCMP

According to US deputy national security adviser for international economics Daleep Singh, the measures will address the 'de minimis rule,' which exempts shipments valued at less than $800 from import duties, taxes, and rigorous screening.

"Since approximately 70 per cent of Chinese textile and apparel imports are subject to section 301 tariffs, this step will drastically reduce the number of shipments entering through the de minimis exemption," said Singh, adding that the intent was to "curtail de minimis overuse and abuse."

The new tariffs are built on existing measures under Section 201 of the Trade Act and Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which covers industry, national security and human rights concerns. The now-plugged de minimis exemption has long been considered a "loophole" that allows Chinese e-commerce companies and fentanyl traffickers to evade tariffs and threaten public safety, according to the report.

Last June, a House Select Committee report on the CCP concluded that Temu and Shein alone are likely responsible "for more than 30 per cent of all packages shipped to the United States daily under the de minimis provision."

According to a fact sheet released by the Biden administration, the number of annual shipments coming into the US under the de minimis rule has gone from roughly 140 million a decade ago to over 1 billion as of last year.