Trump tariffs cause Temu and SHEIN to raise prices, while Chinese direct-to-vendor shopping apps DHgate and Taobao see exponential user growth
On April 16, 2025, Chinese e-commerce giants Temu and SHEIN decided to raise their prices in the United States due to changes in US tariff rules. This has led to a rapid increase in the number of users of wholesale marketplace apps such as 'DHgate' and 'Taobao'.
Chinese shopping app Taobao joins DHgate in Top 5 on US App Store | TechCrunch
Chinese marketplace DHgate becomes a top US app as trade war intensifies | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/14/chinese-marketplace-dhgate-becomes-a-top-us-app-as-trade-war-intensifies/
Is DHgate Safe to Use? Chinese Shopping App Surges After Trump Tariffs - Newsweek
https://www.newsweek.com/dhgate-app-safe-downloads-trump-tariffs-2061009
After Labubu and Xiaohongshu, Chinese Dupes and DHGate Take on the World
https://wwd.com/business-news/business-features/chinese-dupes-dhgate-trade-war-tiktok-take-on-luxury-1237089370/#
In the United States, there is a system called the 'de minimis rule' that exempts imports of less than $800 (approximately 114,000 yen) from tax, and Temu and SHEIN have been using this system to import products from various countries and receive tax exemptions. However, as a result of Chinese e-commerce taking advantage of this system to import large quantities of goods, the domestic market has been squeezed, and there is also the fact that large amounts of illegal drugs have slipped through customs. In the United States, there has been a movement to consider this as an 'abuse of the tax exemption rule,' and revisions to the rules have been considered since the Joe Biden administration.
White House urges Congress to pass bill to improve tariff exemption rules abused by SHEIN and Temu - GIGAZINE
On April 2, 2025, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to end the duty-free treatment for goods imported from China and Hong Kong. This executive order eliminated the tax exemption for goods priced at less than $800, and combined with several other executive orders, a flat tariff of $200 (approximately 28,500 yen) will be imposed from June 2025.
Temu and SHEIN have announced they will be raising prices on their products in the US in response to a series of tariff rule changes.
Temu and SHEIN to raise prices in the US, cut advertising spending but boost sales as Trump tariffs cause last-minute demand - GIGAZINE
Amid these market changes, many Chinese suppliers and manufacturers are posting videos on social media such as TikTok and X to raise awareness that 'products for global luxury fashion brands are manufactured in factories in China.'
China is definitely having their moment… The tea is steaming hot ???? pic.twitter.com/5OAYHeo5NG
— Meidas_Charise Lee (@charise_lee) April 12, 2025
As a result, Chinese wholesale marketplace apps are rapidly increasing their user base, with the business platform DHgate seeing 117,500 app downloads worldwide in just one day on April 13, 2025. Of those, 65,100 downloads were from users in the United States, up 940% from the previous 30-day average.
'We are grateful for this incredible surge in traffic. As a company with deep roots in cross-border e-commerce, we remain committed to improving the digital transaction experience for consumers around the world,' a DHgate representative said.
DHgate is not the only one benefiting from the change in tariff rules, with Taobao , an online shopping platform founded by Alibaba , also seeing an increase in installations.
According to research firm Appfigures, Taobao's estimated downloads in April 2025 were approximately 185,000, up 514% from 30,000 downloads in the same period last month. Taobao also reported that the number of installs increased 5.7 times from April 11 to 12, 2025.
Meanwhile, according to the foreign media Women's Wear Daily, most European luxury brands, such as Burberry and Louis Vuitton, manufacture their products within Europe. Therefore, they point out that many of the luxury brand products sold on DHgate and Taobao are counterfeit. CEO Joseph Chang criticized, 'Many of these factories may have previously produced products for major luxury brands, but now they are investing a lot of money in startups that make counterfeit luxury brand products. They may be able to fool average shoppers, but experienced upper-class shoppers will not be fooled.'
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