NEW YORK — Consumers can expect higher prices and delivery delays when the Trump administration ends a duty-free exemption on low-value imports from China on Friday.

The expiration of the so-called de minimis rule that has allowed as many as 4 million low-value parcels to come into the U.S. every day — mostly from China — is also forcing businesses that have built their models on sourcing production in China to rethink their practices to keep their costs down.

But some might actually benefit from the termination of the duty exemption. For instance, companies that make their goods in the U.S. may feel relief from the competition of cheap Chinese imports, and likely experience a brighter sales outlook.

The move, which applies to goods originating from mainland China and Hong Kong, comes on top of President Donald Trump’s new tariffs totaling 145% on China. Beijing has retaliated with tariffs of 125% on the U.S., fueling a trade war between the world’s two largest economies. Sellers are already seeing cautious consumers.

On Wednesday, Trump called the de minimis exemption “a big scam going on against our country, against really small businesses.”

Introduced in 1938, the de minimis exception was intended to facilitate the flow of small packages valued at no more than $5, the equivalent of about $109 today. The threshold rose to $800 in 2016. But the rapid rise of cross-border e-commerce, driven by China, has challenged the intent of the decades-old customs exception rule.

Chinese exports of low-value packages soared to $66 billion in 2023, up from $5.3 billion in 2018, according to a February report by the Congressional Research Service. And the U.S. market has been a major destination.

Last year, then-President Joe Biden proposed a rule that said foreign companies can’t avoid tariffs simply by shipping goods that they claim to be worth $800 or less. Trump tried in February to end the exception but his initial order was called off within days when it appeared the U.S. was not prepared to process and collect tariffs on the deluge of parcels coming in.

Now consumers will face higher prices and delivery delays as parcels go through a more complicated customs process to enter the U.S. involving declaration and duty payment.

Parcel carriers will be burdened with collecting duties, and the paperwork to comply with the new rule could result not only in higher prices but also delays and even disruptions to delivery, said Ram Ben Tzion of the vetting platform Publican.

Major commercial carriers such as UPS and FedEx have said they are well-equipped and prepared to collect duties on international parcels in compliance with local laws, including the new U.S. rule.

Commercial carriers will be collecting 145% tariffs on declared values. The U.S. Postal Service, a government agency that offers international mail service, can choose either to charge a 120% tariff on low-value packages or a flat fee of $100 per shipment, which is set to rise to $200 on June 1.