Hong Kong Economic Times (HKET), the leading financial daily in Hong Kong, recently reported that U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on February 1 cancelling tax exemptions for small packages worth less than $800 from China, effective February 4. Although Trump suspended the executive order on February 7, U.S. sales by Chinese online retailers Temu (the U.S. branch of Pinduoduo NASDAQ: PDD) and SHEIN have continued to decline. Temu and SHEIN have been using small parcel rules to deliver cheap goods directly from China to American consumers without incurring a tax penalty.
Based on credit and debit card analytical data, SHEIN’s sales in the United States have fallen between 16 and 41 percent in five consecutive days since February 5, while the decline in Temu’s sales reached 32 percent during the same period. Right after Trump signed the original executive order, both companies saw customer spending begin to fall, despite the later suspension of the order. Buyers were hesitant.
TEMU and SHEIN are now accelerating their efforts to reduce the impact of new U.S. policy. For example, SHEIN has asked its top-level clothing suppliers in China to build out new capacity in Vietnam.
Source: HKET, February 12, 2025
https://inews.hket.com/article/3899766/