{"id":20108,"date":"2025-08-31T00:27:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-31T00:27:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=20108"},"modified":"2025-08-31T00:27:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-31T00:27:12","slug":"news-roundup-tariff-ruling-online-shopping-hits-roadblock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=20108","title":{"rendered":"News Roundup: Tariff Ruling; Online Shopping Hits Roadblock"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<h2 class=\"_3P4ktl zeCuXk _28z5Fp _2w4PM3 _1My7YX\" data-currency=\"Text\" id=\"late-news:-tariff-ruling\"><span class=\"_3P4ktl zeCuXk _28z5Fp _3-to_p\">Late news: Tariff ruling<\/span><\/h2>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">Many of the tariffs President Donald Trump has put into action since regaining the presidency are illegal, according a federal appeals court ruling issued on Friday.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">However, tariffs will remain in place until mid-October to give the Trump Administration time to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.  <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">Trump invoked emergency powers in imposing many of his global tariffs. Friday&#8217;s decision upholds a lower court finding, issued in May, that Trump overstepped his authority in doing so.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">The White House quickly condemned the ruling, and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi vowed in a social media post that the Justice Department would appeal the ruling. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"_3P4ktl zeCuXk _28z5Fp _2w4PM3 _1My7YX\" data-currency=\"Text\" id=\"the-economy-this-week\"><span class=\"_3P4ktl zeCuXk _28z5Fp _3-to_p\">The economy this week<\/span><\/h2>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<ul data-currency=\"List\" class=\"_2cGsD8\">\n<li class=\"_3ho7K- _1pCihN olf-Ig\">\n<div class=\"_3wlVa6 _2247K8\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_3VmbAf _28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_3VmbAf _28z5Fp _3-to_p\">July inflation numbers<\/span><\/span><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"> as measured by the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index remained <\/span><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">stubbornly high<\/span><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">. The PCE price index is a key measure watched by the <\/span><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">Fed<\/span><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"> when it considers interest rates.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"_3ho7K- _1pCihN olf-Ig\">\n<div class=\"_3wlVa6 _2247K8\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_3VmbAf _28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_3VmbAf _28z5Fp _3-to_p\">The <\/span><\/span><span class=\"_3VmbAf _28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_3VmbAf _28z5Fp _3-to_p\">stock market<\/span><\/span><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"> hit high record highs during the week \u2014 but hit some turbulence on Friday after the PCE numbers were released.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"_3ho7K- _1pCihN olf-Ig\">\n<li class=\"_3ho7K- _1pCihN olf-Ig\">\n<li class=\"_3ho7K- _1pCihN olf-Ig\">\n<div class=\"_3wlVa6 _2247K8\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_3VmbAf _28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_3VmbAf _28z5Fp _3-to_p\">Gross domestic product <\/span><\/span><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">(GDP) was robust in Q2 after a decline in Q1 (more on that below).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"_3ho7K- _1pCihN olf-Ig\">\n<div class=\"_3wlVa6 _2247K8\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_3VmbAf _28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_3VmbAf _28z5Fp _3-to_p\">A policy change<\/span><\/span><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"> is disrupting the booming business in direct-order imports. Read on.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">If you like to hunt for online bargains, it might be time to brush up on your Latin.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">Today (that\u2019s Friday, Aug. 29) marks the end of the <\/span><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">de minimis exemption<\/span><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">*, a policy that allowed small commercial packages below a set dollar amount to be mailed into the United States without paying customs duties or fees. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">The policy has been around since 1938 (when the bar was set at $1) and was a relatively small part of the economy \u2014 until 2016, when the $200 limit that had been in place since the 1990s was raised to $800. That helped spark the rise of e-commerce platforms like Shein and Temu, which specialized in direct-order imports of inexpensive fast fashion, toys and electronics from China. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">Add one pandemic to the mix and we saw an explosion of small-package imports into the U.S., growing from 220 million de minimis packages in 2016 to 1.36 billion in 2024, eventually hitting a rate of 4 million packages a day. Here\u2019s a look at the dollar value of de minimis imports into the United States since 2012.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">The de minimis exemption for China and Hong Kong ended May 2 \u2014 forcing companies that built their business models around the exemption to quickly adapt. Temu formally ended direct shipments to the U.S. in May, for instance, and along with Shein is building warehouses in the U.S. That means the companies are now bulk-shipping to warehouses, paying applicable tariffs upfront and, presumably, passing at least some of that cost along to consumers. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">\u201cAt their peak, these two platforms were shipping about 600,000 packages per day to U.S. customers,\u201d said Sean Henry, CEO and co-founder of Stord, an Atlanta-based supply chain specialist, in an email interview. \u201cWhen average delivery times jumped from 7-10 days to 14-21 days due to customs bottlenecks, and customers started to experience \u2018sticker shock\u2019 from new duty charges, they had no choice but to adapt.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">Stord operates warehouses in the U.S. and manages order fulfillment for a variety of online retailers. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">Now that the exemption has ended for all incoming packages, changes are rippling to all corners of the e-commerce ecosystem. \u201cBeyond the Chinese platforms, many companies have historically leveraged de minimis \u2014 dropshippers, marketplace sellers on Amazon and Etsy, fast-fashion exporters, and even U.S. brands that manufacture abroad and ship direct-to-consumer from overseas warehouses,\u201d Henry said. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">All of them are quickly adjusting their business models in response to the policy change, according to Henry: \u201c\u200b\u200bOverall, companies that built their entire model on cheap international shipping are having to pivot to focus on quality, customer service, and other differentiators beyond just price.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_3VmbAf _28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_3VmbAf _28z5Fp _3-to_p\">What does all this mean for shoppers?<\/span><\/span><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"> \u201cIn the short term, shoppers should expect significant changes,\u201d Henry said. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">\u201cA $10 item with free shipping from overseas will now come with import duties and customs fees that might double the price. Look for new line items like \u2018import duties\u2019 or \u2018customs fees\u2019 at checkout. We\u2019re already seeing 40% of online shoppers abandon their carts when faced with these extra charges. Delivery times are also stretching from days to weeks. Express carriers like DHL, UPS, and FedEx are still operating, but what used to be $10 shipping might now be $30-$50.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">In the longer term, \u201cshoppers should expect fewer ultra-cheap options,\u201d Henry said. \u201cThe old system created artificial price competition that often came at the expense of quality and worker conditions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">So, is the direct-import model over, after its brief heyday?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">\u201cThe individual parcel direct import model is essentially dead, yes,\u201d Henry said. \u201cWe&#8217;re projecting a 75% collapse in small-parcel volume, from 800-900 million packages annually down to 200-300 million. The era of easily shipping a $5 phone case directly from China to your doorstep is over.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">But hey, it was fun while it lasted. And something new is rising in its place. \u201cCross-border e-commerce isn&#8217;t dead,\u201d Henry said. \u201cIt&#8217;s being rebuilt from the ground up.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"_3P4ktl zeCuXk _28z5Fp _2w4PM3 _1My7YX\" data-currency=\"Text\" id=\"u.s.-economy-surges-after-early-2025-slump\"><span class=\"_3P4ktl zeCuXk _28z5Fp _3-to_p\">U.S. economy surges after early 2025 slump<\/span><\/h2>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">Back in April, when the first quarter economic growth report came out, the picture was grim: <\/span><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">Gross domestic product<\/span><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"> (GDP) for January through March showed a 0.5% decline \u2014 the first economic contraction since early 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">Doomer predictions followed as recession fears spiked. After all, two straight quarters of shrinking GDP is how economists define a recession. But by July 30, second-quarter data was released and the outlook brightened: GDP rose 3%. And on Thursday, the second GDP estimate showed GDP grew 3.3% \u2014 a 0.3 percentage point upward revision from the first estimate. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">But the topline figures don\u2019t tell the whole story. The first quarter contraction was mainly due to a spike in imports (which subtract from GDP) and weak business investment. In Q2, business imports dropped, while consumers spent heavily on health care, dining, travel and cars. Both behavioral shifts were influenced by the looming threat of tariffs. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">During the first half of the year, the full breadth of President Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs weren\u2019t yet in place. That means that growth data for the first half of the year may understate the effects of the policies.  The third quarter GDP report may provide a clearer picture of how the tariffs are influencing economic growth. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<div class=\"_3wlVa6 _2247K8\" style=\"width:480px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;max-width:100%\">\n<figure class=\"_3ngNGS\">\n<div class=\"xkItPk\" style=\"background-color:transparent\">\n<div class=\"_30SBGi x6Nm1J\"><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"yYnXEF\"><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"_3P4ktl zeCuXk _28z5Fp _2w4PM3 _1My7YX\" data-currency=\"Text\" id=\"'kpop-demon-hunters'-rules-all\"><span class=\"_3P4ktl zeCuXk _28z5Fp _3-to_p\">\u2018KPop Demon Hunters\u2019 rules all<\/span><\/h2>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">The animated hit marked some milestones, becoming the most-streamed movie ever on Netflix and dominating the weekend box office with a two-day-only run of a sing-along version. The movie also dominated the virtual watercooler talk at SS this week. A thoroughly unscientific poll found that for 62% of SS parents who responded, \u201cKPop Demon Hunters\u201d is now definitely a \u201cthing\u201d in their households. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">And for those who said yes, it\u2019s a <\/span><span class=\"_98KgO7 _28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">thing<\/span><\/span><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">, how many times has it been watched?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"_3P4ktl zeCuXk _28z5Fp _2w4PM3 _1My7YX\" data-currency=\"Text\" id=\"the-economy-next-week\"><span class=\"_3P4ktl zeCuXk _28z5Fp _3-to_p\">The economy next week<\/span><\/h2>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">Here\u2019s what our senior economist, <\/span><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">Elizabeth Renter<\/span><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">, will be tracking next week:<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">Friday, Sept. 4:<br \/>\n<\/span><span class=\"_3VmbAf _28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_3VmbAf _28z5Fp _3-to_p\">Employment Situation (\u201cjobs report\u201d), Bureau of Labor Statistics<\/span><\/span><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"> \u2014 After last month\u2019s (July data) <\/span><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">revisions<\/span><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"> (and subsequent BLS shakeup), all eyes will be on this report. I\u2019ll be paying close attention not only to the topline total employment change, but the diffusion index \u2014 a figure that tells us whether there are more industries adding or losing jobs in a given period.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_3VJt4n\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">Check out Elizabeth\u2019s full weekly look-ahead <\/span><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">here<\/span><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"_3P4ktl zeCuXk _28z5Fp _2w4PM3 _1My7YX\" data-currency=\"Text\" id=\"icymi\"><span class=\"_3P4ktl zeCuXk _28z5Fp _3-to_p\">ICYMI<\/span><\/h2>\n<div class=\"_3wlVa6 _2247K8\">\n<p class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\"><span class=\"_28z5Fp _3-to_p\">* \u201cDe minimis\u201d is an expression in Latin meaning \u201cpertaining to minimal things.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nerdwallet.com\/article\/finance\/roundup-8-29-25\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Late news: Tariff ruling Many of the tariffs President Donald Trump has put into action since regaining the presidency are illegal, according a federal appeals court ruling issued on Friday. However, tariffs will remain in place until mid-October to give the Trump Administration time to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. Trump invoked emergency<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20109,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[195],"tags":[128,61,209,7974,5168,1780,867,1604],"class_list":{"0":"post-20108","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-hits","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-online","11":"tag-roadblock","12":"tag-roundup","13":"tag-ruling","14":"tag-shopping","15":"tag-tariff"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20108\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}