SHEIN and TEMU are officially raising prices next week, blaming rising costs from Trump’s sweeping new tariffs on Chinese imports. Both fast-fashion giants posted notices to their sites warning that price adjustments will go into effect April 25, signaling the first major consumer impact of the ongoing U.S.-China trade war.
“Due to recent changes in global trade rules and tariffs, our operating expenses have gone up,” TEMU wrote. “To keep offering the products you love without compromising on quality, we will be making price adjustments starting April 25, 2025.” SHEIN issued a nearly identical message.
The move comes as Trump’s administration imposes 145 percent tariffs on select Chinese goods, with some totals reaching 245 percent when combined with previous Biden-era tariffs. The White House also confirmed plans to eliminate the de minimis rule, which allowed low-cost packages under $800 to enter the U.S. duty-free, starting May 2.
TEMU, once a top-ranked app on Apple’s U.S. charts, has already seen a 62 percent drop in downloads and a 77 percent plunge in paid web traffic, according to SimilarWeb. Known for flooding platforms like Facebook and Google with ads for $5 T-shirts and 50-cent gadgets, the company has now drastically pulled back on its U.S. advertising. As of this week, TEMU is running just six Meta ads in the U.S., down from thousands.
SHEIN, while still advertising, is also feeling the pressure. Both retailers built massive American followings by offering dirt-cheap items shipped directly from China. But with costs rising and trade tensions intensifying, the era of ultra-low online prices may be coming to an end.
Industry analysts expect more retailers, especially those sourcing from China, to follow with price hikes of their own.
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