When do the U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods go into effect?

The Donald Trump administration imposed new tariffs on China this week, with an additional 10% levy on all Chinese imports coming into effect on February 3. Officials said they would also close a loophole that allows companies to avoid tariffs on packages valued at less than $800 shipped directly to U.S. consumers. Chinese e-commerce giants Temu and SheiniSheinFounded in China in 2008 and headquartered in Singapore, Shein is a fast fashion brand that grew rapidly through exposure on social media.READ MORE have used this provision to ship to millions of U.S. consumers in recent years.

Over the last 10 years, the number of shipments entering the U.S. under the de minimis exemption increased by more than 600% from about 139 million a year in fiscal year 2015 to over 1 billion a year by 2023, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Last year, that figure was over 1.36 billion. The proposed changes “would make certain products ineligible for the exemption,” as the practice is unfair to American businesses, the CBP said. 

But the U.S. is not the only country that is slapping tariffs on Chinese goods. India, Turkey, and Vietnam are among the countries that have imposed tariffs on Chinese goods in recent years to protect local industries, with more countries doing so in 2024. The tariffs have targeted everything from cheap clothes in Indonesia to e-bikes in the EU, EVs in Canada, solar cells in South Africa, semiconductors in India, and wind turbines in Mexico.

How has Beijing responded to Trump’s new tariffs? 

While China’s initial response was notably muted compared to fiery rebuttals from Canada and Mexico, Beijing responded on February 4 with a series of retaliatory steps. China announced tariffs of its own, ranging from 10% to 15% on a selection of American imports including coal, crude oil, and a list of critical minerals, to be effective immediately. In addition, China filed a formal complaint to the World Trade Organization, and said it has added American garment maker PVH Corp and American genomics company Illumina to its unreliable entity list. At the same time, Beijing’s market regulatory watchdog said it would kick off an anti-monopoly investigation into Google — a case that first came to light back in 2020.

What makes Chinese e-commerce companies so compelling — and so effective?

China has been “the world’s factory” for decades, with made-in-China goods reaching global consumers through foreign brands, shops, or sites like Amazon. The country already had a vibrant domestic e-commerce sector, with companies like Alibaba and JD.com growing into juggernauts. But Chinese-owned shopping platforms then began looking beyond China’s borders. Companies including Temu, ultrafast-fashion platform Shein, and TikTok Shop heralded a new, global era for Chinese e-commerce. 

What makes these platforms so compelling is that the shopping apps all have some social networking built into them. They feature livestreamed videos of shopping influencers, and robust chat and photo-sharing functions. With algorithms designed to spark impulse buys among users, China has become the global leader in social commerce. Nearly half the respondents in a 2024 McKinsey survey reported that they’d recently made purchases directly through social media apps.

Just how much of an impact do cheap Chinese imports really have worldwide?

The rise of Chinese e-commerce has changed how consumers shop and work around the world. In Nigeria, traders who used to import secondhand designer and sports clothes from Europe and the U.S. now simply buy them on Chinese e-commerce platforms, selling them in the local market as “fake originals.” While in New York, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia, Chinese immigrants are offering up their living rooms and garages as “family warehouses” to cross-border sellers on Temu, Shein, and TikTok.

But perhaps the biggest impact of Chinese e-commerce platforms can be seen in Latin America, where the cheap imports dominate consumer trends, and have brought about new jobs and shaped entire industries. In Mexico, low- or middle-income housewives sell Temu and Shein items door to door, contributing to the platforms’ rapid rise in the country. Also in Mexico, hundreds of gig workers have ditched local delivery apps to deliver packages for Temu and AliExpress because the work is faster, and offers them greater flexibility. Street markets in Mexico and other Latin American countries, which once sold secondhand clothes cheaply, now sell surplus goods from manufacturers who produce clothing for Shein.  

It isn’t just Shein’s cheap clothes that are a hot commodity in Latin America. The plastic bags they are packaged in have their own resale market, and have created a new packaging category named after the brand: Shein-style bags.