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Prices are about to rise at two online stores that are famous for cheap stuff - Shein and Temu. They say the trade war is to blame. NPR's Alina Selyukh reports.
ALINA SELYUKH, BYLINE: In virtually identical statements, Shein and Temu say prices will go up after April 25, and shoppers online are kind of freaking out. Here are TikTokkers Bree Cooper (ph) and Seth O'Brien Green (ph).
(SOUNDBITE OF TIKTOK VIDEO)
BREE COOPER: Get those Shein orders in and placed.
(SOUNDBITE OF TIKTOK VIDEO)
SETH O'BRIEN GREEN: Y'all better go ahead and get y'all Shein carts out of the way now.
SELYUKH: Shein and Temu built their U.S. businesses around a tax loophole which allowed them to send their clothes and toys and tools to American shoppers totally duty-free. This is a unique advantage. Most retailers ship in bulk to a U.S. warehouse and pay import taxes at the border. Shein and Temu ship straight from China to your door, and it's a small package with no import tax.
KIMBERLY GLAS: These items don't pay a tariff. There's no scrutiny on these items.
SELYUKH: They just fly through customs, says Kimberly Glas. She runs the National Council of Textile Organizations. It's one of many groups that have long called for this loophole to close. Here's Sucharita Kodali, a retail analyst at the research firm Forrester.
SUCHARITA KODALI: This has been a bipartisan issue. We've been talking about it for years.
SELYUKH: The push to close the loophole began under President Biden. Now President Trump is finally ending it for Chinese imports. Shein and Temu will face new import tariffs up to a hundred and forty-five percent, and that will trickle down to shoppers. Kodali suspects prices will rise a lot, and that's a threat for these retailers. Their growth was fueled by younger shoppers on tight budgets. Will they simply abandon these websites?
KODALI: There is zero brand loyalty with younger consumers. These are consumers that will go to whatever is the next best offer whenever and wherever that is.
SELYUKH: It's unclear if any store will be able to sell $5 shirts and $10 swimsuits given new tariffs. But already online in posts about Shein, people's comments say, OK, where do we shop next?
Alina Selyukh, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF LUNGFISH'S "SANDS OF TIME") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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