The "de-minimis" tariff rate is now 54%. Here's what that means.

The "de minimis" tariff rate on low-value parcels from China will come down to 54% from 120%, the White House said in an executive order Monday, after reaching an agreement with Beijing over the weekend.

The so-called de minimis package loophole had long allowed Chinese e-commerce firms to ship low-value goods to U.S.-based customers duty-free.

In February, President Trump moved to eliminate the low-value parcel exemption by imposing a 120% tax, or a flat fee of $100 on packages. When the exemption was eliminated on May 2, tariffs of up to 145% became applicable to packages from China worth $800 or less.

Effective May 14, the tariff rate on low-value imports from China will be slashed to 54%. Additionally, the U.S. will lower its maximum tariff rate on Chinese imports from 145% to 30%, including a 10% baseline levy plus a fentanyl-specific 20% levy, for a period of 90 days.

Mr. Trump alleged in an April 2 executive order that shippers in China had been exploiting the loophole to "hide illicit substances and conceal the true contents of shipments sent to the United States through deceptive shipping practices."

"These shippers often avoid detection due to administration of the de minimis exemption," the executive order stated.

The end of the de minimis exemption has upended the business models of companies like Shein and Temu, leaving U.S. consumers unable to procure affordable fashion from the popular e-commerce sites. Temu has halted shipments of goods from China to the U.S., and is now relying on domestic sellers to fulfill U.S.-based customers' orders and avoid tariffs.

"Temu's pricing for U.S. consumers remains unchanged as the platform transitions to a local fulfillment model. All sales in the U.S. are now handled by locally based sellers, with orders fulfilled from within the country," the company said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch last week.