Asian air cargo sent to US falls sharply

Air cargo shipment volume from Asia has declined by double digits since the US cancelled a tax-free exemption for low-value packages from China early in May, trade groups and analysts said.

- CASEY HALL LISA BARRINGTON

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 US trade policies," IATA Director General Willie Walsh said in a report published on Monday.

Shipments valued under $800 — often sent by air to US 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.

Since May 2, however, such shipments sent from China and Hong Kong have been taxed at a rate initially as high as 145% before settling to as low as 30% after a mid-May trade detente between the US and China.

The pair continue to negotiate on trade, with the US relaxing export restrictions on chip-design software, ethane and aerospace to China this week, ahead of July 9 when the US plans to reimpose a range of steep tariffs targeting multiple countries.