Online retailer Temu is blocking U.S. customers from buying items from Chinese sellers now that those items come with a 145 percent tariff attached.
What was known as the de minimis rule on foreign goods expired Friday, according to CNBC. Under that rule, items valued at $800 or less were exempt from duties and tariffs.
President Donald Trump ended that policy, saying the step was necessary to address the flow of drugs into America.
“President Trump is targeting deceptive shipping practices by Chinese-based shippers, many of whom hide illicit substances, including synthetic opioids, in low-value packages to exploit the de minimis exemption,” the White House said in a fact sheet.
“It’s a big scam going on against our country, against really small businesses,” Trump said during a Wednesday Cabinet meeting, according to The New York Times. “And we’ve ended, we put an end to it.”
With the exemption gone, Temu at first said it would raise prices for Americans, but now simply lists items that would be shipped from Chinese sellers as out of stock.
A Temu representative claimed local sellers will now fill orders “from within the country.”
Temu is only showing US shoppers ‘local’ content, or stuff that’s already housed in warehouses here. But that means reduced selection and favorite items being pulled from the site. https://t.co/qUDrh2RIBf
— PCMag (@PCMag) May 2, 2025
“Temu has been actively recruiting U.S. sellers to join the platform,” the representative said.
“The move is designed to help local merchants reach more customers and grow their businesses,” the representative added.
However, CNBC noted that Temu had been building up inventory of China-made products in the United States as tariff tensions and the removal of the de minimis loophole loomed.
Wired noted that “products marked with a ‘Local’ label … were shipped into the country before the new import duties went into effect.”
Although Temu did not raise prices, Shein, a clothing retailer, did add the tariffs into prices customers pay, according to CNBC.
Kim Glas, president of the National Council of Textile Organizations, said the loophole Trump closed had allowed “unsafe and illegal Chinese goods” into the U.S., according to The New York Times.
“Today’s action by the administration is an important step forward to help rebalance the playing field for American manufacturers,” Glas said.
Local sellers are not made in the US. Temu should support bring the manufacturing back to the US…
— Richard (@dearenn) May 2, 2025
The Washington Post said Temu and Shein orders make up about 30 percent of the packages shipped to the U.S. every day, citing a report from the Peterson Institute.
Another report from House Republicans estimated that almost half of the de minimis shipments entering America came from China.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
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