Ten to twelve Temu orders are often active at any one moment for Virginia retired registered nurse Rena Scott.
The 64-year-old has purchased almost everything from the Chinese website. She often purchases domestic goods like furniture and rugs, as well as crafting supplies like yarn and beads (she has a whole yarn room and purchased 53 bundles of a specific yarn she loved). She now has four shirts in her basket.
For Scott, using the website for all of her purchases is a “no-brainer.”
a person carries a Temu bundle.
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The end of low-cost Temu and Shein purchases? How the tariffs imposed by Trump may increase the cost of such shipments
“You’re just eliminating the middleman, like the Walmarts and Amazons, because everything here has already been imported from abroad,” she said.
Temu and Shein, another Chinese e-commerce site, have attracted millions of Americans due to their affordable prices. According to a congressional investigation, Chinese shipments of low-value packages increased dramatically from $5.3 billion in 2018 to $66 billion in 2023.
However, those who depend on these comparatively inexpensive Chinese goods are now being impacted by President Donald Trump’s tit-for-tat trade war. He imposed a 10% minimum tax on all other nations and 145% tariffs on goods from China. Additionally, on May 2, the “de minimis” provision that permitted duty-free imports of items under $800 to the US would end. In anticipation of new tariffs that will go into effect this week, Temu and Shein increased the cost of a wide range of products on Friday, including swimwear and lawn chairs.
This implies that even the “cheap products” that enticed American shoppers to buy on Temu and Shein are now out of their price range.
Scott said, “I already couldn’t afford to buy in this country, and I can’t afford to buy from Temu now.”
Customers with lower incomes suffer
Scott, who lives alone, claims she is thrifty and receives good disability benefits since she was unable to work after a transplant. She “simply cannot afford it,” so she hasn’t had fast food in a year. In order to save money on power, she maintains the central air conditioning at 85 degrees and drives the same automobile that she paid cash for in 2005.
She said that a Temu cabinet Scott had purchased for $56 before to the price hike is now over $80, which is “not sustainable.”
The loss of low-cost Chinese e-commerce platforms would disproportionately affect lower-income families. According to a February study by economists from Yale and UCLA, around 22% of de minimis goods were sent to the wealthiest zip codes in the US, while 48% were sent to the lowest.
Additionally, according to a study by the economic research company Trade Partnership Worldwide, which analyzed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the poorest families in America spent more than three times as much of their income on clothing in 2021 as the richest households.
Dampier, Phillip
Dampier, Phillip Being polite Phillip Dampier Consumers fill up
For the last two weeks, Phillip Dampier, a 57-year-old consumer rights journalist, has spent almost eight hours a day on Chinese e-commerce websites.
He’s purchasing “basically anything you might find in a JCPenney,” which includes paper goods, kitchenware, furniture, blankets, bedding, and a portable heater.
“I have a feeling that this economy is about to go into the tank, and we’re going to have shortages that rivaled the pandemic,” he said, adding that he is stockpiling for the next two years.
Dempier, a Rochester, New York resident, has been an Amazon client for a long time. He said that the Jeff Bezos-owned website has lost its customer service and become more costly since the outbreak. After making his first Temu purchase in 2023, he started buying at Shein, AliExpress, and even TaoBao, the first Chinese e-commerce platform.
Amazon has retracted its public promotion of the same model as Shein and Temu for the time being. According to two senior White House officials who spoke to CNN, Trump contacted Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to voice his displeasure on Tuesday morning after the company contemplated revealing the additional cost of tariffs on certain goods.
The change “was never a consideration for the main Amazon site,” an Amazon representative told CNN in a statement.
That was a “good call,” the president subsequently stated.
Untrustworthy actions
Shein, Temu, and AliExpress have faced harsh criticism for their negative environmental effects, as well as their lack of labor and product safety safeguards.
Additionally, these websites promote an excessive consuming culture. An unending algorithm of vibrant colors and coupon-earning activities captivates customers, yet the cheap trash that results often ends up in landfills.
However, purchasing American-made products isn’t really a choice, according to Scott, the former nurse in Virginia.
“That product was still made overseas in a country where they pay terrible wages and possibly use child labor, even if I go to my local Walmart and buy it,” Scott said. “It’s wicked expensive,” even if she finds anything manufactured in the United States.
Regarding overconsumption, Dampier also said that American retailers such as TJ Maxx and Ross allow customers to overshop. He remarked, “It’s a little biased to just say that Temu and Shein have that problem because the prices are a little lower.”
Nonetheless, the Trump administration insists that the purpose of the tit-for-tat tariffs is to prioritize American companies and manufacturing. However, US customers who were interviewed by CNN have voiced doubts about the effectiveness of the tariffs, and they are now left to pay the price.
“I think the whole tariff idea is stupid,” Dampier said. “The tariff policy is wrong, and the Trump administration is trying to bully everybody, which is wrong.”
This story was contributed to by CNN’s Elisabeth Buchwald, Betsy Klein, Jordan Valinsky, Alayna Treene, and Nathaniel Meyersohn.