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US consumers will even stop access to the cheapest products China has to offer-not only because with Trump fares has ceased to be, but also because the American version of the Temu website has now been only local products.
The popular Chinese e -commerce website abruptly removed all products in the American version of its online store that are sent directly to consumers from China, causing widespread confusion among company suppliers and customers.
The change came apparently earlier this week, only days before the lacuna fiscal that allowed US consumers to buy products from China without paying tariffs Having disappeared within the new tariff policy recently imposed by Donald Trump.
“Tempu recently moved its US operations to a model of local distribution“Confirmed a statement from Temu, sent by email to, which confirms that the platform is abandoning its shipping strategy from China.
“This means that All US sales are now treated by locally headquarters, with ORDERS SATISFITED FROM THE COUNTRY. Despite the operational change, the prices of the fear for US consumers remain unchanged, ”adds the statement.
During the last week, Temu implemented A series of changes Suddenly, while dealing with the impact of Trump on his US operation-based on the offer of products at surprisingly low prices and promoting himself as A refuge for bargaining lovers.
Tempu initially announced that would start to increase prices of products sent from China, from April 25. But then things became confusing.
After this ad, the platform began to show an “import rate” separated in orders from US customers, apparently in an effort to highlight the financial impacts of tariffs in the price of the products.
Other retailers, also adopted this tactic, but eventually retreated in their plans after Donald Trump’s harsh criticism-which on Tuesday Personally called Jeff Bezos To express its disapproval, as described as “an exchange of incisive but cordial words.”
On the same Tuesday, American buyers realized that he stared at her apparently simply decided to prevent users USA any product listings currently located in China or anywhere else outside the US.
The version of the site and the application of Temu to the United States now seems to be fully filled with products marked with the “local” labelwhich means they are tarfishbecause they were sent to the country before the new import rates come into force.
Before this week, consumers were able to choose between products with or without the local label, the latter being typically sent from China via aerial load after the purchase.
“Things are chaos right now. Since the tariffs started to change, Our business has been strongly affected“Says a Temu salesman in China that specializes in furniture and home decoration.
These changes approach the stamp of what consumers can expect from competitors like Amazon, says Juozas KaziukėnasIndependent Analyst from the e -commerce industry, to Wired.
“Right now, Tempu is very similar to Amazonbecause everything you buy in the feared today will come to you from their warehouse in the US and probably in just a few days, ”says Kaziukėnas.
But the changes also mean that many American buyers suddenly come across a much more restricted selection of products on that, e They are not happy with it.
On social networks, users say they are seeing hundreds of products, which had kept in wishlists and shopping carts, are now appearing, overnight, as “exhausted”.
“I depended a lot on Temu for my business, and I am panickingbecause I can’t find any of my usual suppliers, ”wrote a Reddit user on the subreddit.
Another user shared a screen capture that claimed to be a conversation with the Customer Support Service at Temuin which an agent said the platform is “currently unable to show products outside the US“And that cannot provide a deadline for the end of this limitation.
The change also confused the sellers of Temu in China, which apparently were not notified in advance that Americans would no longer be able to access their products.
Even before Donald Trump announced the tariffs, Tempu was already doing several changes in your business modelincluding storing more inventory in the US and experimenting with a more traditional logistics structuresimilar to that of Amazon.
The platform is also currently exploring a new shipping program, designated “Y2” – A more flexible variation of Temu’s storage model in the USA, where sellers send individual orders instead of mass inventory.
But in this model, in many aspects similar to a logistics option of Amazon called “Fulfillment by Merchant”, is the seller and did not fear the one who stays Responsible for dealing with tariffs and the customs declaration process, as well as any problems that may arise.
These changes in the entire platform give a note of the speed with which it has been adapted to the current volatile political environment, but the company also risks losing what was once a fundamental part of its identity and competitive advantage.
“It seems-me A huge step back to the. What really helped her differentiate her from Wish and Aliexpress is that Controls the supply chainso I could ensure the delivery speed and the quality warranty level to provide a consistent experience, ”says Kaziukėnas.
