by WorldTribune Staff, April 13, 2025 Real World News
The Chinese shopping apps Shein and Temu, which have made billions of dollars selling low-quality, cheap goods to Americans, are expected to be hit hard by U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies increasing tariffs and duties on products imported from communist China.
Shein and Temu, which have been tied to slave labor, including those imprisoned as part of the ongoing Uyghur genocide, rely on the use of mobile phone apps to provide instant access to so-called “fast fashion”. The companies ship their products directly from China to the consumer, rather than importing them in large quantities.
They pay no duties or tariffs on their shipments due to a rule known as the “de minimis loophole,” which states that any package shipped from abroad worth less than $800 does not need to pay such fees. Temu and Shein packages are rarely worth anywhere near $800.
The direct shipping of the inexpensive goods also allows Temu and Shein to avoid the scrutiny of larger exporters who face compliance with anti-slavery laws, Breitbart News reported on Thursday.
Trump has moved to close the de minimis loophole by May 1. Temu and Shein will have to pay duties on their packages beginning on May 2.
Trump increased duties on de minimis packages in an executive order on Wednesday. The executive order contains a provision that increases the ad valorem rate of duty on de minimis packages from China from 90% to 120%. These packages will also see an increase of a duty per postal item from $75 to $100 on May 1, and from $150 to $200 on June 1.
“In my judgment, this modification is necessary and appropriate to effectively address the threat to U.S. national and economic security posed by the PRC’s [China’s] contribution to the conditions reflected in large and persistent trade deficits,” Trump wrote in the executive order, “including PRC industrial policies that have produced systemic excess manufacturing capacity in the PRC and suppressed U.S. domestic manufacturing capacity, which conditions are made worse by the PRC’s recent actions.”
University of Delaware professor Sheng Lu told Newsweek that Shein and Temu would “definitely” be “directly and significantly affected” by Trump’s policies.
“High tariffs combined with the loss of de minimis benefits could limit Shein’s product offerings in the U.S. market,” Lu explained. “As a result, other fashion companies currently competing with Shein may feel more confident in raising their prices, given the reduced supply in the market.”
“There’s no way either for retailers or for their suppliers to absorb the additional cost,” Lu added.
Shein, which primarily specializes in inexpensive and poorly made women’s clothing, reported a record-high $2 billion in profits in 2023 and reportedly dropped by about half that in 2024 — but largely, apparently, due to competition from Temu, which sells clothing, home goods, and other items of murky origin. Pinduoduo, the parent company of Temu, tallied a net profit of $8.3 billion in 2023, based on the latest publicly available statistics.
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Trump tariffs could cripple Chinese shopping apps tied to slave labor added by Editor Two on April 13, 2025
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