“Especially when [the US] represents a third of [our] overall revenue.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Ap\u00e9ro has made this decision in response to US President Donald Trump’s sweeping changes to taxes on imported goods into the United States.<\/p>\n
It is not the only online fashion retailer in this position.<\/p>\n
Data given to ABC News shows shipping from Australia to the US is dropping as business “uncertainty” about Trump’s tariffs continues.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Clothing produced in China faces higher tariffs when imported into the US. (ABC News: Michael Lloyd)<\/p>\n
Where did this ‘chaos’ all begin?<\/p>\n
Ap\u00e9ro’s woes began on the US president’s so-called Liberation Day in April, when Trump announced global tariffs, with help from a gigantic placard.<\/p>\n
Tariffs are a tax on goods as they enter a nation’s borders.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Officially, Australia is getting a “baseline” rate of just 10 per cent.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Australian labels producing goods in China may be subject to the Trump administration’s higher tariffs. (ABC News: Michael Lloyd)<\/p>\n
Yet Australian companies that manufacture in China are actually facing the far higher tariffs being lobbed on the Asian superpower.<\/p>\n
The tariffs on China have wildly fluctuated since April, with a semi-truce between the two superpowers in May now settling them at just over 40 per cent.<\/p>\n
“It’s basically a quasi-global trade war,” Smith says.<\/p>\n
“And we just don’t know what the playing field is, and the players can change their mind at any time.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
(Source: Oxford Economics)<\/p>\n
US and China are reportedly bargaining for a firm deal, but deadlines on this keep being delayed. The next is in November.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Harry Murphy Cruise, head of Economic Research and Global Trade at Oxford Economics Australia. (ABC News: Scott Jewell)<\/p>\n
“What’s tricky is they are now negotiating over pretty substantial trade disagreements,” Oxford Economics head of global trade, Harry Murphy Cruise, says.<\/p>\n
“I really feel for [Australian businesses caught up in this] simply because they don’t have any certainty whatsoever.<\/p>\n
“They don’t know what’s going to happen in November. They may not know what’s going to happen next week.<\/p>\n
Although, they do. Next week, another Trump curveball is coming their way.<\/p>\n
De minimis exemption creating extra chaos<\/p>\n
Until now, packages worth less than $US800 ($1,200) were exempt from import taxes when they arrived in the US.<\/p>\n
But on August 29, this “de minimis” tax exemption, once used by Temu and Shein, is being closed off for all countries, including Australia.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The trade war between the US and China has caused significant disruption around the world. (Reuters: Kevin Lamarque)<\/p>\n
Felicity Deane, who is a trade expert at The University of Queensland, believes this could result in fees of US$80 on Australian orders into the US.<\/p>\n
Others have been interpreting the new looming rules more optimistically, as just applying Australia’s “baseline” 10 per cent tariff to orders.<\/p>\n