Temu says it’s only shipping from the US. That doesn’t mean the products are made here
CNN
Hours after the de minimis exemption went defunct, Chinese e-commerce site Temu made an announcement: it was overhauling its shipping model and handling all US sales via US based sellers.
Hours after the a key US tariff exemption expired on Friday, Chinese e-commerce site Temu announced it was overhauling its shipping model, sending out all American sales via US-based sellers. “All sales in the U.S. are now handled by locally based sellers, with orders fulfilled from within the country,” A Temu spokesperson said in a statement early Friday. “Temu has been actively recruiting U.S. sellers to join the platform.” The change is a major shift for the platform. Temu – and other Chinese e-commerce sites like Shein and AliExpress – had previously used the de minimis exemption, as it was known, to flood the US with ultra-low-price goods. And while US President Donald Trump says that he wants his new tariffs to help bring manufacturing back to the US, the move by Temu shows how major companies could evade that demand and try other tactics. The de minimis loophole allowed shipments of goods worth $800 or less to come into the United States duty-free, often skipping time-consuming inspections and paperwork. Chinese e-commerce sites arguably took the most advantage of the exemption, flooding the US market with ultra-low-cost products. But with Trump imposing punishing tariffs on all Chinese imports, the millions of Americans who became reliant on those sites could find those cheap goods less affordable. The vast majority of Shein and Temu products are manufactured in China and imported directly to the US, which is why the prices are so cheap. Temu’s new business lingo may sound like it’s right up Trump’s alley. But just because a product is shipping to customers from a “local warehouse” doesn’t mean it’s made in the USA.
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