Chinese online retailers Temu and Shein have begun implementing price hikes and import fees on their U.S. sales in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies. The changes took effect over the past weekend, marking a significant shift in their pricing strategies.
According to CNBC, Temu introduced a substantial import fee of approximately 145% on Monday. This has led to dramatic price increases across various product categories. For instance, a summer dress previously priced at 18.47 USD now costs 44.68 USD, including a 26.21 USD import fee. Similarly, a children’s swimsuit that retailed for 12.44 USD has jumped to 31.12 USD with an additional 18.68 USD fee. Even small appliances are affected, with a portable vacuum cleaner’s price surging from 16.93 USD to 40.11 USD after factoring in the import fee.
The New York Times analyzed Temu’s pricing by assembling a sample cart of ten items. The selection included a 50-pack of large hangers for 70.50 USD, a men’s green linen shirt for 19.38 USD, and a plush pink dog bed for 24.05 USD. The initial total, including international shipping and sales tax of 10.20 USD, came to 275.03 USD.
However, during the final checkout process, Temu applied an import duty of $343.26, pushing the total price to $628.49.
Shein, a major competitor, also significantly raised prices on most of its products around the same time. The average price of the top 100 beauty and health products increased by 51% in a single day, with some items more than doubling in cost.
In a parallel experiment, the New York Times added 10 similar items to the cart on Shein’s platform, resulting in 244.03 USD. However, the article did not specify additional import duties for these items.
These price adjustments come after the Trump administration’s recent policy shift. The White House has announced plans to eliminate the “de minimis” system for imports valued under 800 USD, starting on May 2. In its place, the administration intends to impose up to 120% tariffs on these goods.
This development has sparked criticism of Trump’s earlier assertions that China would absorb the cost of tariffs without passing them on to American consumers. The recent price hikes by Chinese retailers suggest a different reality, contradicting the administration’s stance.
