Here's how new tariffs could impact online shopping: 'You will definitely be paying more'
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- President Donald Trump's tariff plan could mean big changes to your online shopping habits.
Toys, tools, trendy clothing: chances are you've ordered it and had it delivered pretty inexpensively thanks to online shipping. Many of those things have been shipped to you from China thanks to Amazon, Temu, or Shein.
Olaf Groth is a professor at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.
"Ever since the pandemic, we have taken to e-commerce in the United States," Groth said. "We have been 'addicted to cheaper merchandise from China' that is increasingly well-made."
President Trump's new tariff plan will end a tax exemption for low-value Chinese imports. The "De Minimis provision" for goods from China and Hong Kong ends May 2.
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For years, packages valued at less than $800 had been shipped duty-free. That helped e-commerce companies like Shein and Temu thrive.
But that's changing. The end of the exemption plus new tariffs means a double-whammy for customers.
Professor Kirthi Kalyanam of Santa Clara University's Leavey School of Business and the Executive Director of Retail Management Institute explains.
"You will definitely be paying more, there's no question about that," Kalyanam said. "In addition to that, customers should expect to see disruptions and delays because we don't know exactly how this is going to be implemented over the next four weeks, six weeks."
RELATED: China imposes a 34% tariff on imports of all US products starting April 10
Tech stocks have been hit hard because of President Trump's tariff announcement. That includes Apple, Meta, Facebook, Nvidia, and Amazon.
"Amazon, of course, will be hit because the goods they are selling are becoming more expensive," Groth said.
Apple is really feeling the sting with nearly all its iPhones and other devices made overseas and subject to the new tariffs.
"Tech stocks--there will be quite some fluctuation as these blows get sorted out. If this blossoms into a trade war, we are seeing volatility over the next three to six months," Groth said.
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Retail experts say U.S. consumers have been spoiled by online shopping. They've had a lot to choose from--- products, costs, and shipping times.
The experts we spoke to say be prepared to wait longer and pay more for almost everything you order online.
On Friday, China announced that it will impose a 34% tariff on imports of all U.S. products beginning April 10, matching the rate of the U.S. "reciprocal" tariff on Chinese exports Trump ordered.
The Commerce Ministry in Beijing also said in a notice that it will impose more export controls on rare earths, which are materials used in high-tech products such as computer chips and electric vehicle batteries.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
