The Chinese Online Retailer Temu has responded to the new American rates of Donald Trump and has been increasing enormous import costs for numerous articles since the end of April. In many cases, the price premiums are more than 140 percent and therefore double the total price for consumers in the US.
The measure is a direct response to the punitive rates imposed by former President Donald Trump for an amount of 145 percent on import from China. Since April 25, Temu has provided many articles with an import allowance, which is sometimes higher than the actual product price.
Sometimes a very juicy price rises:
- A swimming suit for children for $ 12.44 (around 11.70 euros) is more expensive for $ 31.12 (around 29.25 euros) – 150 percent surcharge.
- A battery vacuum for $ 16.93 (around 15.91 euros) costs $ 40.11 (around 37.70 euros) after reimbursements.
- A men’s jacket for almost $ 34 (around 31.96 euros) is around $ 83 (around 78.02 euros).
- A folding mattress for $ 119 (around 111.86 euros) is expensive to around $ 273 (around 256.62 euros).
On his website, Temu explains that the import costs cover “all customs -related processes and costs” – but the actual submission to the authorities could deviate.
Price explosion has no influence on all products
The costs apparently only apply to articles sent directly from China. Temu recently started marketing products from American camps to circumvent customs costs. These articles are marked with the note “no import costs”.
Users protest, app loses popularity
Countless users were disappointed on platforms such as Reddit. For example, a message was: “Rip Temu, it was fun as long as it lasted.” Many users announce that they will switch to Amazon or Walmart in the future, because similar prices apply – often with faster delivery. On the Short Message Service X (formerly Twitter), users also made their anger about Trump Wild and blamed him with the enormous price increases.
Temu has also drastically reduced his advertisements in the US. According to the Analysis Company Sensor Tower, the app, one of the ten mainly downloaded programs in the Apple App Store, has now returned to number 73.
Shein also adjusts the prices, but without surcharges in checking out
Competitor Shein also announced price increases. However, the company integrates the rates directly into product prices. The check-out says: “Customs is included in the price. You don’t have to pay anything extra while delivering.”
Look of the privilege “De Minimis”
The sudden price premiums are also due to the omission of the so -called “de minimis” exception. This Maas in the law previously allowed Temu and Shein, had to be delivered to the US under a value of $ 800.
From 2 May, shipping services such as UPS or FedEx must pay 120 percent inch or a fixed rate of $ 100 (87.85 euros) per package. This will increase to 200 dollars (175.70 euros) on 1 June.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
