Online Chinese discounter Temu is offering $1,000 to middlemen who get US retailers to sell goods on its platform as it grapples with President Trump’s tariffs, The Post has learned.
The offer comes after the US ended a tariff loophole called the “de minimus” exemption, which allowed businesses like Temu to ship goods valued under $800 to the US without paying any duties, earlier this year.
Now Temu is scrambling to expand its network of US sellers to avoid tariffs and shipping costs on the made-in-China clothing, jewelry and home goods it specializes in.
“Their beloved loophole is dead,” Amazon consultant Jon Elder told The Post this week.
“Temu is much more aggressive because they want to be a cheap Amazon,” he added.
“Introduce your seller to sell on Temu and earn $1,000,” a Temu rep recently wrote Elder, who posted the note on his LinkedIn profile on Tuesday.
Another Amazon consultant, Abeer Jawaid, shared on LinkedIn that she’d received the Temu offer in her inbox, too.
A spokesperson for Temu declined to comment on the specific promotion or whether it was inspired by the end of the “de minimis” exemption.
But Temu acknowledged that it is rapidly expanding its network of local merchants after opening its marketplace to US sellers in November 2024.
“Temu is offering an additional channel for local sellers to reach new audiences,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “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% year to date and its revenue grew by 7%, to $14.5 billion, in the most recent quarter. That was its slowest growth in years, apparently due to the tariffs.
Shop Succulents’ owner Jessica De Gennaro has been selling plants on Temu since February, but she recently got an email 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 told The Post.
Some see the promotions as “reeking of desperation,” said Chris McCabe, a former Amazon account investigator turned e-commerce consultant.
Prior to the start of the tariffs, it was boom times for Temu and its Chinese rival Shein.
The “de minimus” rule — which dates back to the 1930s and was intended to let American tourists bring souvenirs home hassle-free — helped enable the fast-fashion companies’ explosive growth. Shein and Temu’s exports soared to $66 billion in 2023, up from $5.3 billion in 2018, according to a report the Congressional Research Service published earlier this year.
US tariffs on goods from China currently range from 47% to 57%, Trump said last month.
