Small Packages From Shein And Temu Are Now Subject To US Tariffs. Here's What To Know

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Those same goods are now subject to tariffs as high as 145 percent. In response to the change, Shein announced it would begin adjusting prices starting on April 25. Temu, meanwhile, is currently blocking US shoppers from seeing products shipped from China, effectively narrowing the number of goods for Americans to choose from. Other retailers have started displaying tariff surcharges in their online shopping carts to help consumers make sense of where added fees are coming from.

What will the end of de minimis mean for American businesses and consumers? Will China's ecommerce giants stop shipping to the United States altogether? WIRED senior business editor Louise Matsakis and senior China writer Zeyi Yang joined chatted with readers during a Reddit AMA this week to answer these questions and many others. Here's what to know:

If the recent tariffs aren't removed, will Temu and other Chinese ecommerce sites eventually close down their operations in the US?

At this point, we really don't know, and Temu might not have made a decision one way or another. What we do know for now is that the American version of Temu has started showing only "local" products. But one important piece of context that might be helpful to consider is that Temu is owned by a Chinese company, Pinduoduo, which is already one of the largest online shopping platforms in China.

I have heard that ports in the US are starting to receive less shipments as tariffs take full effect. How long do you think it will take for this to affect the average American consumer and brick-and-mortar stores?

We have been talking to US retailers who don't sell on ecommerce websites, meaning they have their own stores or are suppliers to Walmart, Target, etc. These companies are also freaking out because many of them have complex supply chains in China and can't easily move their manufacturing operations to other countries.