Ends the era of ultra -low cost prices on Lean And Shein. In the United States, many consumers found themselves having to pay for a surcharge on clothing and accessories purchased through the famous Chinese Fast Fashion platforms. At the basis of the increase is the tightening of duties On imports from China, a measure relaunched by Donald Trump with the aim of protecting the national economy and curling the rise of Asian e-commerce.
Because prices increase
To date, Marketplace like Shein and Temu have been able to take advantage of a favorable customs threshold: thanks to the regime “de minimis“, The orders sent directly to the final consumer with a value less than 800 dollars they were exempt from taxes. An escamotage that has allowed millions of shipments to avoid duties, thus allowing Chinese giants to offer extremely competitive prices and circumvent the tax constraints imposed on other operators in the sector.
The US administration has decided to fill the legislation, applying immediate duties on each shipment from China, also for minimum amounts. Temu and Shein have thus found themselves forced to update their systems: today each order is subject to import costs that can exceed $ 10, regardless of the initial price of the product. In some cases, the increase can go up to 145%, compromising the convenience that decreed the success of these platforms.
The impact of price increases on consumers
According to the estimates of the American Action Forum, the narrow on low -cost shopping platforms could translate into an overall aggravation for American consumers between 8 and 30 billion dollarswith direct effects on the increase in the prices of individual products.
Donald Trump’s intentions are clear: curbing the advance of Chinese big techs, protect local merchants and strengthen the position of American players like Amazon. However, the story risks going beyond the economic sphere. China, in fact, reacted with irritation to the tightening on the duties and would be ready to reopen the comparison with Washington, in an attempt to renegotiate the new measures or at least find a compromise that avoids a commercial escalation.
What changes for Italy and Europe
The tightening on Temu and Shein, at least for now, concerns exclusively the US market, leaving – at least for now – indemnify Italian consumers. But in the face of the intensity of the duties in the USA, the two giants of the Fast Fashion could decide to concentrate their efforts on other strategic markets, primarily the European Union.
Brussels, however, has already started moving. With the introduction of the Digital Services Act, the EU has imposed new obligations of transparency, traceability and responsibility for large digital platforms. Investigations have also been started to ascertain compliance with the rules, in particular in the safety of products and correctness of commercial practices.
Further measures are under study, such as the abolition ofcustoms exemption For parcels of value of less than 150 euros, with the aim of promoting more fair competition and improving the traceability of goods. A management fee is also evaluated on each imported package and a strengthening of customs checks, which would impose on marketplace the obligation to provide precise data on each item.
