End of tax-free loophole for low-value goods disrupts air shipments to US from China

SHANGHAI/SEOUL (Reuters) -Air cargo shipment volume from Asia has declined by double digits since the U.S. cancelled a tax-free exemption for low-value packages from China early in May, trade groups and analysts said. Air cargo demand from Asia to North America declined 10.7% in May versus the same month a year earlier, showed data from the International Air Transport Association, illustrating "the dampening effect of shifting U.S. trade policies," IATA Director General Willie Walsh said in a report published on Monday. Shipments valued under $800 - often sent by air to U.S. customers of low-cost e-commerce platforms such as Shein and PDD's Temu - fall under the so-called de minimis, or too-small-to-matter, tax exemption.