Temu offers ‘aggressive’ $1,000 payouts to lure US – Business News
Online Chinese discounter Temu is offering $1,000 to middlemen who get US retailers to sell items on its platform because it grapples with President Trump’s tariffs, The Post has discovered.
The offer comes after the US ended a tariff loophole known as the “de minimus” exemption, which allowed companies like Temu to ship items valued underneath $800 to the US with out paying any duties, earlier this yr.
Now Temu is scrambling to increase its community of US sellers to keep away from tariffs and delivery prices on the made-in-China clothes, jewellery and home items it focuses on.
“Their beloved loophole is dead,” Amazon advisor Jon Elder instructed The Post this week.
“Temu is much more aggressive because they want to be a cheap Amazon,” he added.
Chinese discounter Temu is attempting to add US sellers to its platform by paying $1,000 for every vendor that indicators up. julien leiv – stock.adobe.com
“Introduce your seller to sell on Temu and earn $1,000,” a Temu rep just lately wrote Elder, who posted the be aware on his LinkedIn profile on Tuesday.
Another Amazon advisor, Abeer Jawaid, shared on LinkedIn that she’d obtained the Temu offer in her inbox, too.
A spokesperson for Temu declined to touch upon the precise promotion or whether or not it was impressed by the tip of the “de minimis” exemption.
But Temu acknowledged that it’s quickly increasing its community of native retailers after opening its market to US sellers in November 2024.
“Temu is offering an additional channel for local sellers to reach new audiences,” the spokesperson stated in a assertion. “We aim to support the growth of local businesses while giving consumers more choices.”
Temu is owned by conglomerate PDD Holdings, which is headquartered in Shanghai and Dublin. PDD’s shares are up about 40% yr to date and its income grew by 7%, to $14.5 billion, in the latest quarter. That was its slowest growth in years, apparently due to the tariffs.
Until this yr Temu shipped most of its items to the US with out paying taxes. AA+W – stock.adobe.com
Shop Succulents’ proprietor Jessica De Gennaro has been promoting plants on Temu since February, however she just lately acquired an electronic mail offering her a fee-free period “as if I was not on the platform.”
“I actually thought about contacting them asking whether I’m eligible because my company was one of its earlier sellers,” she instructed The Post.
Some see the promotions as “reeking of desperation,” stated Chris McCabe, a former Amazon account investigator turned e-commerce advisor.
Shein’s and Temu’s growth within the US has slowed down due to new tariff insurance policies within the US. REUTERS
Prior to the beginning of the tariffs, it was growth instances for Temu and its Chinese rival Shein.
The “de minimus” rule — which dates back to the Thirties and was supposed to let American vacationers convey souvenirs home hassle-free — helped allow the fast-fashion corporations’ explosive growth. Shein and Temu’s exports soared to $66 billion in 2023, up from $5.3 billion in 2018, in accordance to a report the Congressional Research Service printed earlier this yr.
US tariffs on items from China at present vary from 47% to 57%, Trump stated final month.
