If you’ve been scoring bargain deals on Temu lately, things are about to look a little different—but don’t panic just yet.
The Chinese e-commerce giant, Temu, is officially no longer shipping products directly from China to the United States. This move comes after a big shift in U.S. trade policy that’s shaking up how companies do business across borders.
Wait, What Changed?
Recently, the U.S. government (under an executive order by former President Donald Trump) pulled the plug on something called the de minimis rule. That rule used to let packages worth under $800 enter the country without import taxes. But not anymore.
Now, most Chinese goods—including those sold on Temu and rival platforms like Shein—face massive new tariffs, some jumping over 100%. These extra fees were already showing up for Temu customers, with some shoppers getting hit with import charges as high as 150% at checkout. Yikes.
Temu’s New Game Plan
In response, Temu has completely overhauled its U.S. operations. The platform is no longer shipping anything directly from China. Instead, it’s only listing items that are already in U.S. warehouses.
If you’ve noticed that some items are marked “out of stock,” that’s probably because they’re stuck overseas and won’t be coming to your door anytime soon.
But here’s the silver lining: Temu says its prices will stay the same for U.S. customers. Why? Because instead of importing directly, they’re now working with local U.S. sellers and warehouses to keep things running smoothly.
“All sales in the U.S. are now handled by locally based sellers, with orders fulfilled from within the country,” a Temu spokesperson said.
What This Means for You
- ✅ You might get your orders faster (hooray for local shipping!).
- ❌ Some items might be unavailable for now, especially if they haven’t made it into a U.S. warehouse.
- 💸 Prices are expected to stay low, even without direct imports from China.
- 🤝 More U.S. businesses could join Temu, thanks to the company actively recruiting local sellers.
Temu says this isn’t just about avoiding tariffs—it’s also about helping U.S. merchants reach more customers and grow their businesses.
So while it might look like a big change on the surface, the goal is to keep Temu’s bargain-hunter-friendly vibe alive and well—without those pesky import charges.
