De minimis has helped propel Temu and Shein's explosive growth in the U.S. by allowing the companies to bypass taxes on low-value shipments, and sustain their rock-bottom prices on everything from shoes and clothes to furniture and electronics.
With the tariff exemption gone, Temu has significantly ramped up its promotion of sellers who have inventory in U.S. warehouses, rather than items that are shipped direct from China. A scan of listings in Temu's "Lightning deals" section shows that it's almost entirely dominated by products with a green "local" badge.