Temu and Shein are getting ready to raise prices as a tariff loophole closes

If you want to order that pink flamingo throw pillow from Temu or those skinny jeans from Shein, you better do it now. The fast-fashion and home accessories retailers announced this morning that their pricing structures will change effective April 25.

Both companies are located in China and rely heavily on large volumes of low-cost shipments to the U.S., which had previously been exempt from tariffs. Recently, President Donald Trump announced a 145% tariff on all Chinese imports.

The trade war is driving these pricing changes from Temu and Shein, specifically the closing on May 2 of the “de minimis” exemption, which excluded shipments of $800 or less from tariffs.

Temu and Shein posted separate but nearly identical notices on their websites, where they said that their operating expenses have gone up “due to recent changes in global trade rules and tariffs.” They said, “To keep offering the products you love without compromising on quality, we will be making price adjustments starting April 25, 2025.”

Temu had already been fighting sagging sales in the United States due to a variety of factors, so this is another challenge. David Warrick, an executive vice president at Overhaul, a supply chain risk management company, said Temu may look to other markets to offset its loss of U.S. business.

“Temu has been actively growing its company in Europe, which could be part of a longer-term hedge,” Warrick said, adding that if tariffs remain in place, Temu and Shein will have to adapt their sourcing strategies or introduce price increases that may dull their competitive edges.

Ultimately, though, Warrick said these tariffs hit at the core of these retailers’ pricing strategies.

“The vast majority of Temu’s inventory is sourced from China, so these new tariffs are deeply disruptive to their pricing model,” he said. “It’s one thing to absorb minor cost fluctuations, but this is a fundamental margin hit that’s hard to work around without passing costs to consumers.”