UPS & FedEx Institute China To US Surcharges Ahead Of Tariff Deadline

Liz Morton
Liz Morton


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FedEx and UPS are reinstating China to US surcharges as deadlines approach for tariff and de minimis changes.

In the past, many cross-border shippers leaned on the de minimis exemption, which enables shipments less than $800 to enter the U.S. duty free, to avoid tariffs - but that exemption will no longer apply to products from China and Hong Kong starting May 2, with other countries to follow once systems are in place to collect duty revenue.

Trump Ends De Minimis Exemption For China, Other Countries To Follow Once Systems Are Ready
Trump Executive Order ends de minimis for China, will expand to remove the exemption for all countries once systems in place to collect duties.

Anticipating an increase in volume as shippers try to get ahead of the incoming tariff and de minimis changes, both UPS and FedEx have instituted additional surcharges for shipments originating in China and Hong Kong.

FedEx

FedEx implemented a $0.45 per pound demand surcharge for US parcel imports from Hong Kong, the Philippines and China from April 15 - May 2.

Starting May 2, 2025, FedEx shipments imported into the U.S. with a customs value of $800 or less will begin seeing a Disbursement Fee of $4.50 or 2% of duty and tax, whichever is greater, per the company’s service guide.

If a shipper uses a third-party billing service in which duties and taxes are paid outside of the destination country, they will be charged a Duty and Tax Forwarding Fee instead. Through the surcharge, sub-$800 shipments will be charged the greater amount of $8.50 or 2% of duty and tax.

UPS

UPS reinstated its surge fee of $0.29 per pound for US parcel imports from China, Hong Kong and Macau effective April 13 with no end date.

The company says the added surcharge will help them continue satisfying shippers’ needs “without compromising on the quality or timeliness of service expected from us.”

As Cathy Roberson of Rethinking Supply Chains points out, these types of surcharges are typically used to protect revenue per package, especially in the ecommerce sector where shipments from Temu and Shein have had a significant impact on volumes.

Ready or Not: De Minimis Goods From China to the US Ends May 2
With May 2 fast approaching, the end of de minimis from China to the US will impact a number of parcel shipments – most notably e-commerce.

The surge fee is viewed as a way to mitigate the low-yields from Asia-based e-commerce marketplaces like Temu and Shein, which provide substantial volume for carriers but are typically less profitable to deliver than other shipments.

Indeed, UPS introduced this fee after it struggled in Q2 with new customers with higher volumes than anticipated.

“We actually accepted new customers into our network of with certain volume expectations that blew up on us. We are not chasing it. It is just their demand was much higher than we had anticipated,” UPS CEO Carol Tome told analysts last July.

UPS declined to name the new customers, but according to Reuters, its description of them as shippers with "explosive" volume matches the profiles of Shein and PDD Holdings Inc's Temu.

FedEx also has had their struggles with e-commerce volumes. Last November, at the Baird Global Industrial Conference, FedEx CFO John Dietrich was asked about the company’s volume growth outlook, especially with it focused on profitably growing its business.

“E-commerce is going to make up a large percentage, probably up to 90% of the volume growth that our ground network and our freight business will be the beneficiary of. So we can't ignore that the volume is going to be there, we just have to find the right cost structure to accommodate it.”

How are tariff and de minimis changes impacting your ecommerce business? Let us know in the comments below!

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Liz Morton is a 17 year ecommerce pro turned indie investigative journalist providing ad-free deep dives on eBay, Amazon, Etsy & more, championing sellers & advocating for corporate accountability.


Recent Comments
Avatar PlaceholderMksowaYesterday
They need to fix a very broken system full of nasty attitudes. The patrons no longer matter.
Avatar PlaceholderMarty_JYesterday
Was just checking to see if it would post without creating an account but….
eBay seller since 2022
Just started selling about a year and half ago

800 items sold 99.7 feedback

Recently I went away for family things for 30 days set my acct to be away … got back with items not received cases opened

I wasn’t able to revise existing listings post new listings OR refund the buyer from my eBay funds …

The items were caught up in recent wild fires but ended up being delivered late. I had to beg the buyer to let me pay them off of eBay to close the case because it was on hold and I wasn’t able to refund them from my eBay acct etc…. So luckily they obliged and I did … but ever since then my acct must be strikes as high risk because funds have been on hold 3 days after delivery since then indefinitely might I add… I get the run around everytime etc etc FINALLY I got someone saying it’s temporary it’ll be back to normal etc. these r all reps from escalated departments… one lady told me that with my history and feedback I’ve proved beyond doubt that I’m reliable seller and shouldn’t be on hold she put in for a appeal never heard back got the run around for another few months… they keep telling me I’ve been chosen for the new update they r rolling out total BS … do you believe that sellers will stay on eBay with these holds ? No they will simply go to another platform … they r 100% making money on the holds and use any reasoning to tell you basically no and keep profiting…. The get around is creating a new acct… these cases were closed without eBay having to step in and might I add I lost $$ and its been truly frustrating esp since I’ve built the acct up but I know I can do it again.. when they tell me its going to happen to all accts I just mention how my brother just opened one n now has immediate payments they don’t know what to say I don’t think they really even know.,, its sad n scummy but I see a class action lawsuit coming honestly ! I don’t know💬 if I forgot anything but well written thanks for the information. Have a great one!
Avatar PlaceholderJkvinyl32 days ago
As many have already quoted - us sellers now can not charge for packaging. I will be £500 a year out of pocket.