US ecommerce company Amazon had sought to counter the threat posed by cheap Chinese suppliers by launching the “Haul” brand offering products for less than $20 with shipping times between one and two weeks. Now it may be able to avoid a “race to the bottom”, analysts said.

Nestled within the order is a brief but important provision that could change how Americans shop online: the closing of a little-known loophole called the de minimis exception. Under the de minimis rule,

The president’s tariffs against China, Mexico and Canada eliminated a trade exemption used by low-cost retailers.