As Trump-era tariffs raise prices, Chinese retail store, Temu, is charging U.S. buyers hefty import charges, more than triple the cost of ultra-cheap goods.
While Temu itself is not levying the tariffs on U.S. buyers, the company is not absorbing the U.S. government’s tariffs, imposed by President Donald Trump.
Rather than eating the costs, Temu is passing on the import charges to customer orders at checkout. And that means many American shoppers are facing serious import fees — sometimes in excess of what the item itself costs.
The 145% tariff is unchanged at the government level, but the actual financial impact is now being passed on to consumers with Temu’s pricing structure, usually listed as “import charges” at checkout.
Despite this, Trump's trade policies have already imposed a 145% tariff on numerous products. Since Temu ships most of its products straight from China, the company now faces much higher costs to get the goods into the United States.
As per Bloomberg, shoppers vented on social media, noting instances when import charges exceeded the original price of goods. An X user received a $135 fee for an $86 order.
Interestingly, platforms like TikTok Shop appear to be unaffected. Temu and its rival Shein have issued public notices of price increases from April 25 following changes in international tariffs.
Local items that are sent from U.S. warehouses as “local” will escape surcharges, but imports produced by Chinese factories will still face steep levies. In one instance, a Chinese $5 blender arrived with an $8 import fee, while a $34 model shipped from the United States was spared tariffs.
As tariff war continues, the crypto market has not been immune today.
Bitcoin has been down to $94,029.39 at press time, as per Kraken's price page. The 24 hour trading volume is up by 71.06%, indicating more traders are selling to take profits, cutting losses, or buying the dip. The asset reached $95,598.49 on Apr 28 but is now down by 0.07%.