Will My Temu Order Arrive With All the Trump-China Tariff Talk?

• Donald Trump’s govt orders may cease low cost delivery for e-commerce orders direct from China.
• That might be dangerous information for Temu and Shein.
• The largest query: What is going to occur to the $2.74 mousepad I ordered from Temu final week?!

A couple of days in the past, I observed I wanted a brand new mousepad. The material overlaying was beginning to peel away from the rubber. So I went to Temu — extra on that in a minute.

Mousepads are a few of these issues that — in principle — you must by no means purchase; they only come into your life like low cost umbrellas or Mason jars.

However on account of many years of repetitive movement from typing, my weary wrists want the sort of mousepad with the ergonomic padded blob on the finish, not the plain, flat ones you accumulate free of charge.

So, spend my very own cash I need to.

Now, I personally have conflicted emotions about buying on Temu, however a mousepad is sort of an ideal Temu merchandise: high quality does not actually matter, and a $3 one is identical as a $10 one — no less than to the human eye. As a price-sensitive shopper, I went for it.

I discovered a plain, grey mousepad with a wrist relaxation on Temu for $2.74 and ordered it.

Nicely, it wasn’t fairly that easy — Temu requires a $15 minimal for an order to ship, so I threw in just a few different gadgets — a squishy elbow relaxation pad, a brand new telephone case, some hair scrunchies.

Then, catastrophe struck. Shortly after my order was positioned, President Trump declared an finish to the “de minimis” exemption. There’s nonetheless some dialogue as to precisely what his govt order will imply, however de minimis is the regulation that permits orders below $800 to ship straight from China to US prospects with out encountering obligation and tax. It is a massive a part of how Temu and Shein have operated within the US so efficiently.

Then, issues went apocalyptic for my mousepad: Tuesday night, the USPS stopped taking inbound parcels from China to the US. By Wednesday morning, the USPS had reversed that call, resuming service.

What all of this implies for Temu and comparable sellers like Shein is not precisely clear, however let’s simply assume it is not good. (Temu did not reply to a request for remark.)

Nonetheless, each e-commerce platforms have superior past solely delivery direct from mainland China, and now a lot of their sellers have warehouses within the US to ship orders domestically.

On the homepage of Temu, the highest promoted part is for “native warehouse shops” — sellers from warehouses within the US.

Shein’s web site has a much less distinguished tab for “QuickShip” gadgets that ship from the US, which is not seen in any respect on its cellular app.

Whereas relations with considered one of our largest commerce companions are up within the air, I’ve nice information about my mousepad (which I am positive you had been anxious about).

My Temu order seems to be nonetheless shifting alongside in processing to be shipped.