This faces new obstacles in the US

Shopping for products at bargain prices on Tema has been a joy for many customers since the e-commerce giant launched in the US in 2022, but the trade policies recently implemented by President Donald Trump have severely compromised this relationship.

At the end of April, Temu raised prices and added “import duties” that were sometimes higher than the cost of the products themselves. Customers rebelled, Temu’s traffic plummeted, and sales fell significantly.

The import duties and price hikes followed the Trump administration's revocation of a "de minimis" exemption, which previously allowed goods under $800 to enter the U.S. from mainland China and Hong Kong duty-free.

Now, Temo is taking a different approach. The company has stopped shipping products from China to American customers. Instead, all sales to U.S. customers are now handled by “local sellers,” with orders fulfilled domestically to keep prices low.

“Temu’s pricing for U.S. consumers remains unchanged as the platform transitions to a local fulfillment model,” a Temu spokesperson said in a statement to CNET. “Temu is actively recruiting U.S. sellers to join the platform.”

Which Temu products are affected by the US tariff rules? Because Temu has stopped shipping to the US and has started fulfilling orders from local sellers, the new US tariff rules do not currently affect any of the products on the Temu website.

But once Temu’s stock runs out in US warehouses, shipping may resume, and if the current tariffs and de minimis situation with Chinese goods remain in place, price hikes are likely to be significant. Shein, a similar Chinese e-commerce platform based in Singapore, could be an indicator of what could happen to Temu.

Shein adjusted its prices in several key categories. Beauty and health products increased by an average of 51%, while home and kitchen products increased by 30%. A recent survey of 300 women's clothing brands by the Washington Post found that prices were up an average of 43% higher.

According to The Daily Beast, the price of a dishcloth rose from $1.28 to $6.10 (a 377% increase), and the price of a meat grinder rose from $2.91 to $9.02 (a 219% increase).

These changes are part of a broader trend where American consumers are facing rising costs for imported goods. The elimination of the “de minimis” rule, coupled with the imposition of higher tariffs, has disrupted the business models of these fast fashion retailers, resulting in higher prices for consumers.