Amazon is basically Temu or AliExpress for people too lazy or too impatient to just get the same shit from the China apps, so they pay a premium to get it shipped to them in an Amazon box.
You can find a lot of the same AliExpress or Temu products on Amazon at X2 or X3 the price.
Close to half of all parcels entering the US under de minimis were sent from China, according to a 2023 report by the US Congressional committee on China.
VAT yes, but import tax no. I buy from Amazon UK, which is outside the EU, and as long as soon as the total creeps over 150 quid, I'm hit with import duties, on top of VAT. I just asked my wife who shops at Temu a lot, and she never had to pay import duties (never even came close to the 150 total).
The fuck? Where did this come from? I doubt it was Trump, considering he is a fan of China. I can't think of any reason Elon would block this, if he's invading the USPS now too.
He's a fan of China, just not right now. A trade war is more important to him. Not to mention Chinese AI just tanked the DOW a short while ago to the point that there's a bill trying to ban downloading DeepSeek R1.