Online shopping giants Temu and Shein have seen a sustained drop in sales in the week after US President Donald Trump scrapped a duty exemption that their small parcels benefit from, suggesting a chilling effect on American consumers who previously flocked to their ultra-cheap wares.

PDD Holding’s (PDD) e-commerce platform, Temu, and a privately held online retailer, Shein, have recently seen a major drop in their U.S.

Sellers and shoppers on the two sites say they saw items disappear and prices go up after President Donald Trump implemented tariffs on Chinese imports.

President Donald Trump on Friday reversed his decision to eliminate the “de minimis” loophole that allowed packages from China valued at under $800 to be processed without customs duties or tariffs, a component of the 10% tariff on Chinese imports that took effect Tuesday—a move that threatened discount Chinese retailers Temu and Shein.

Donald Trump’s tariffs could stop Chinese fashion firms Shein and Temu from flooding the market with clothes and goods at low prices.

Mr Trump’s new trade barriers will be a blow not only to American consumers, but also to the e-commerce companies that have cashed in on the de minimis exemption. Shein, a Chinese apparel group whose largest market is America,

Online shopping giants Temu and Shein have experienced a sustained decline in US sales following President Donald Trump’s announcement to revoke the duty-free exemption on small parcels under $800 from China.

Shein’s US sales fell 16 per cent to 41 per cent for five days from February 5 while Temu’s fell as much as 32 per cent.