After President Trump cancelled a lucrative trade loophole that helped Chinese fasting companies avoid taxes and US customs, Temu is promoting more so-called “local” products.
On Thursday, the Chinese-owned e-commerce site promoted items with green “local” badges. In other words, it comes from a US warehouse.
The majority of the “Lightning Deals” section includes these “local” items, and the website's homepage promoted a special “local warehouse” section.
Temu is about to pivot from his reliance on Chinese merchants who ship directly to the US after President Trump imposes a 10% tariff on China and kills a longtime “De Minimis” exemption. US tax-free.
The loophole helped Temu and fellow Chinese first fashion giant Shane grow in a very popular US growth. Because they can ship products directly from China to the US gateway and sell them at dirt prices, such as $5 sneakers and $13 AirPod imitations.
With Trump's tariffs and the elimination of de minimis rules, Chinese companies could force them to raise prices and face massive shipping delays at customs, experts previously told the Post.
Therefore, the Chinese-owned company has stepped up promotions for sellers with inventory in US warehouses to avoid tax and customs trends. CNBC reported previously.
Temu did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In addition to buying shoppers for shoppers, the strategic moves will also help reduce the company's reliance on sellers who ship directly from China, according to CNBC.
“Local” products are stored in US warehouses, but according to the product list, many of them are sold by Chinese-based companies.
By prioritizing “local” products, Temu has now competed more directly with US rivals like Amazon, eBay and Walmart.
These more traditional retailers are particularly focused on Temu and Shein, which have emerged as a tough competition in the past few years as Chinese companies tapped into the Tiktok trends and quickly kicked out new products.
Last year, Amazon began its own low-cost storefront, hauling, to compete with two first fashion sites.
Meanwhile, according to CNBC, Temu began loading stocks in US warehouses in March.
US lawmakers accused Temu and Shein of abusing the De Minimis rules.
Their exports surged in 2023 from $5.3 billion in 2018 to $66 billion, according to a report released last week by the Congressional Research Bureau.
A 2023 survey by the House Selection Committee also found that Temu likely “regularly” transported goods made from forced labor to the United States.
By July 2024, around 20% of Temu's US sales came from sellers along with US warehouses, not Chinese-based merchants, according to e-commerce market research firm Marketplace Pulse. .
Shane has also invited US buyers and sellers to open distribution centers in Illinois and California, and a supply chain hub in Seattle.
When the US Postal Service announced a ban on inbound packages from China and Hong Kong this week, they were thrown another curveball, as Temu and Shein feared additional costs and shipping delays after the De Minimis rollback. Then later if you reverse the pause in less than a day.
