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Temu and Shein to raise US prices from next week over Trump’s tariffs
The China-founded e-commerce sites said they would be making ‘price adjustments’ from April 25 but did not provide details about increases
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China-founded e-commerce sites Temu and Shein say they plan to raise prices for US customers starting next week, a ripple effect from US President Donald Trump’s attempts to correct the trade imbalance between the world’s two largest economies by imposing a sky-high tariff on goods shipped from China.
Temu, which is owned by the Chinese e-commerce company PDD Holdings, and Shein, which is now based in Singapore, said in separate but nearly identical notices that their operating expenses have gone up “due to recent changes in global trade rules and tariffs”.
Both companies said they would be making “price adjustments” starting on April 25, although neither provided details about the size of the increases. It was unclear why the two rivals posted almost identical statements on their shopping sites.
Since launching in the United States, Shein and Temu have given Western retailers a run for their money by offering products at ultra-low prices, coupled with avalanches of digital or influencer advertising.
The 145 per cent tariff Trump slapped on most products made in China, coupled with his decision to end a customs exemption that allows goods worth less than US$800 to come into the US duty-free, has dented the business models of the two platforms.
E-commerce companies have been the biggest users of the widely used exemption. Trump signed an executive order this month to eliminate the “de minimis provision” for goods from China and Hong Kong starting May 2, when they will be subject to the 145 per cent import tax.
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