Starting from the 29th (local time), the United States will suspend the tax exemption system for low-value imported goods, resulting in local customers using major K-beauty reverse direct purchase channels, 'Olive Young Global Mall' and 'Global Amore Mall', having to bear an additional 15% tariff. These companies plan to minimize customer attrition due to price increases through discount promotions after the tariff is applied.
According to the relevant industry on the 26th, Olive Young and Amorepacific recently announced that North American customers who order products from their respective reverse direct purchase malls will have to bear an additional tariff of 15% on the product price if the products arrive after the 29th.
Olive Young Global Mall stated, "If U.S. customers make payments after 11 a.m. (local time) on the 27th, an additional 15% will be added to the product price separately." Amore Mall also noted, "U.S. customers will be regarded as importers of the purchased products, and a 15% tariff will be added during the customs process."
The imposition of this tariff is a result of policy changes under the administration of former President Donald Trump. Until now, the U.S. did not impose tariffs if the total value of an importer's daily imports did not exceed $800, according to the De Minimis provision.
However, President Trump signed an administrative order on the 30th of last month to abolish this provision for all countries worldwide. Accordingly, starting from the 29th, all low-value parcels imported into the U.S. via international mail networks will be subject to duties according to the tariff rates based on the country of origin, or a fixed duty ranging from $80 to $200 per item. Korea will be subject to a 15% tariff.
Domestic beauty companies operating reverse direct purchase malls have been contemplating countermeasures regarding the abolition of the low-value tax exemption system. For now, they have decided to pass the additional tariff onto U.S. consumers. However, they plan to actively offer various promotions to minimize customer attrition.
Considering consumer burden, Olive Young will hold a global 'Fall Sale 2025' from the 29th to the 4th of next month, providing various discount benefits. In addition, regular sales and global mall promotions will continue to be introduced.
Amorepacific stated, "To minimize customer attrition, we plan to respond by actively utilizing our own promotions and promotional materials, and by presenting various products that are only operated domestically."
According to Statistics Korea, the online direct sales amount last year was 1.7225 trillion won. Among them, the scale of reverse direct purchase from the U.S. accounted for 344.8 billion won, reaching 20% of the total. The amount of reverse direct purchases from the U.S. has increased by an average of 76% annually over the past five years since 2019, with the fashion and cosmetics sectors showing the highest growth rates.
Domestic beauty platforms have also benefited from the expansion of reverse direct purchase platforms. Olive Young Global Mall reported a 70% increase in sales in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year, with over 40% of that increase coming from the U.S. Global Amore Mall also saw a 62% increase in visitors as of last month compared to the same period last year, and sales rose by 168%. About 70% of visitors are U.S. customers.
However, some in the industry speculate that the imposition of this tariff will not significantly hinder the growth of K-beauty in the U.S. A representative of a beauty company said, "It is true that the abolition of the low-value tax exemption system increases the perceived burden on North American consumers, but considering the quality and price competitiveness of K-beauty, there are no clear alternatives," adding, "Since this is not a policy change that applies solely to Korea, the overall impact on the industry will be limited."