US officials are cracking down on a loophole which allows overseas online retailers, such as Chinese-owned Shein and Temu, to send their packages direct to US consumers without them being checked by customs officers.
Politicians fear that the 'de minimis' rule, under which packages worth less than $800 are not checked, means companies are evading the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) which bans imports from Xinjiang on the assumption they are made with forced labour.