More expensive sheet and temum purchases from Trump's tariffs?

More expensive sheet and temum purchases from Trump's tariffs?

Americans love Shein, Temu and Aliexpress for two main reasons: cheap prices and fast delivery. But the tariffs under the Trump administration could significantly change this shopping experience.

changes from tariffs

The Trump tariff arrangements have lifted a long-term shipping regulation, the so-called de minimis exception. This rule allowed international exporters to send packages worth less than 800 USD inspection and duty-free to the United States. Chinese e-commerce sites have set up their gigantic business models around this exception. The loose restrictions and tax exemptions for cheap products have made it possible for over a billion packages to be imported into the US

cost increases and implications

The Trump administration, however, has to lift the regulation that made these goods so cheap and easily accessible. "If you check every package, the costs for consumers will increase dramatically," said Clark Packard, research scholarship holder at the Cato Institute. "Reception of purchased goods will slow down." At the moment, the US-inch has the authority to open and inspect all international packages, although in practice every single element is not opened.

reactions of the trade practices

On Tuesday, the US post temporarily stopped accepting international packages from China and Hong Kong. No reason for this change was given, but in a opinion explains that postal traffic was not affected.

What is the de minimis control?

The de minimis regulation has been around since the 1930s, and its threshold has been increased over the years. It is said to make it easier to trade and help consumers, so Packard said in conversation with CNN. This exception means that buyers do not have to fill out tedious customs formalities or pay tariffs on small packages. In September 2024, the Biden government announced that it would be against the alleged abuse of the DE Minimis exception, since deliveries in the past ten years have risen from around 140 million a year to over one billion.

influence on consumers

The de minimis exception is the reason why these Chinese goods are so cheap for US customers, explained Christopher Tang, professor of global supply chain management at the University of California, Los Angeles. According to a congress report, more than 80 % of the total e-commerce deliveries in the United States were minimis imports in the United States in 2022. Packard pointed out that consumers "bore almost 90 to 100 % of the costs of a customs during the first Trump administration". If this dynamic is repeated, consumers could expect an increase of 10 % if the goods come from China.

realignment of the business model

In 2024 Temu during the Super Bowl US dollars was equipped with coupons and giveaways. The company based in Boston, which belongs to PDD, paid for three commercials during the game and two afterwards. Whether such advertising will also take place at this year's Super Bowl in February is an option.

The abolition of the exception could slowly slow the growth of Chinese e-commerce companies, according to an analysis by Bank of America. However, companies could expand their warehouses in the United States and send large quantities over customs before they pack up the goods within the United States. However, this would not be bypassing import tax, but could promote the creation of new jobs in the United States.

cnns eric cheung and Simone McCarthy contributed to this report.