How Tariffs Are Reshaping Fast Fashion: What Shein and Temu Are Doing

What changed with the de minimis exemption

De minimis is the rule that lets low-value imports skip the duty paperwork. The threshold was $800 per shipment per person per day. The Trump administration closed the China-specific de minimis exemption in 2025, then expanded the closure to other countries. Every box from China now goes through full customs entry with duty and tariff applied.

The volume hit by this change is huge. The Customs and Border Protection estimate puts de minimis shipments at over 4 million packages a day before the closure, with a meaningful share coming from Shein and Temu.

How Shein and Temu used to ship

The old playbook:

Manufacture in China

Bulk-air-freight to a US distribution hub or directly to a courier sort facility

Break shipments down so each package fell under the $800 de minimis threshold

Skip the duty entry, skip the tariff, ship direct to customer in 7 to 10 days

The math worked because the per-package duty was zero. With duty added, the dress that retailed at $12 with $4 of margin now eats $2 to $4 in duty plus the tariff layer.

What the new tariff math looks like

A typical apparel item from China now stacks:

Base import duty (varies by HTS code, often 10 to 25 percent for apparel)

Section 301 tariff (additional 7.5 to 25 percent on China-origin goods)

New 2025 tariff layer (administration has signaled additional rates)

Brokerage and entry fees (now charged on every package, not bulk)

A $10 item that paid zero duty under de minimis can now carry $3 to $5 of import cost on top of the freight. Fuel surcharges add another layer.

How Shein and Temu are responding

Both companies are pivoting in similar directions:

US warehousing: bulk-importing to US 3PLs and shipping domestically to dodge per-package duty

Marketplace expansion: signing up US-based sellers to ship from US inventory

Slower delivery promises: walking back same-week to two-week delivery windows

Higher prices: $5 hauls becoming $9 hauls, smaller assortment

Diversifying manufacturing: Vietnam, Mexico, and other lower-tariff origins

Shein has accelerated US warehouse expansion since the de minimis closure. Temu is doing the same.

Why this matters for US ecommerce brands

Three real impacts:

The price gap between US-made or US-warehoused brands and Chinese direct-ship narrows

Delivery speed becomes a real competitive advantage (US-warehoused beats China-air every time)

Marketing and SEO around "fast US shipping" and "ships from USA" gets meaningfully more valuable

Brands that already warehouse in the US and ship within 1 to 3 days now look fast and reliable next to a Shein box that takes 7 to 12 days plus customs.

What competing US brands can do

Lean into the speed advantage in product copy and ads (real ship dates, real cutoffs)

Diversify manufacturing or sourcing away from China where tariffs hit hardest

Use a US 3PL to keep delivery promises tight (1 to 3 day ground for most of the country)

Consider B2B retail channels (Amazon, Walmart, TikTok Shop) where the US-based seller advantage is more visible

Track competitor pricing as Chinese brands raise prices to absorb tariffs

See apparel fulfillment for US brands and how port congestion affects ocean import lead times.

How 3PL Center fits

We help US apparel brands ship faster than Shein or Temu can clear customs. Our warehouses near LA/Long Beach and New Jersey ports keep inventory close to your customers and the import lanes. Same-day ship cutoff at 2pm local for outbound orders. Multi-carrier rate shopping picks the cheapest route per ZIP. Real-time inventory visibility so you never oversell. Get a quote and we will scope your fulfillment.