Americans are feeling the sting of higher prices caused by Trump’s tariffs — and they’re not happy.
With China tariffs now in effect, shoppers are facing big fees at checkout — and many are venting their frustration on social media.
Kaitlyn Holop, a TikToker with 19,000 followers, posted a video showing a $175 tariff on two bikinis.
‘This is absurd,’ Holop said in the post. ‘At least tariffs will help my shopping addiction.’
On Reddit, shoppers are also venting about rising costs. ‘Everything is going up, and the money you spend buying them is going down,’ one shopper wrote. ‘Worst of both worlds.’
Over the past few months, the administration has launched, relaunched, and edited a battery of tariffs — ranging from 10 percent to 145 percent — targeting nearly every type of imported good.
One of the biggest changes: the end of a long-standing loophole called the de minimis exemption. The rule had allowed small packages from China — worth under $800 — to enter the US duty-free.
Fast-fashion retailers like Shein and Temu used the exemption to sell ultra-cheap items like $7 dresses and $4 gadgets.
Colin Huang, the CEO and founder of Temu, has quickly become one of the richest people in the world – but US policy will make his products more expensive
Americans will increasingly feel the effects of the end of the duty free exemption in coming weeks.
‘With tariffs and the ending of de minimis, the cost of doing business in the US is rising for Shein and Temu,’ Neil Saunders, the managing director of retail at GlobalData, previously told DailyMail.com.
‘Given their business models are low margin they have little choice but to increase prices for consumers.’
De minimis is a century-old trade law that allows imports valued under $800 to enter the US duty-free — provided they are shipped directly to individual buyers.
This rule has been a major advantage for retailers like Temu and Shein, which ship directly from China and avoid various import fees.
Chinese companies had been increasingly taking advantage of this rule. Chinese exports of low-value packages jumped to $66 billion in 2023, up from $5.3 billion in 2018.
Retail experts say that regular US retailers like Walmart and Amazon, who ship items from domestic warehouses, face a disadvantage compared to their rivals who ship items directly from China and avoid various import fees.
New tariffs and the end of ‘de minimis’ have been announced simultaneously, leading to widespread confusion since both contribute to rising prices
Shoppers are starting to see the pricing impacts of President Trump’s tariffs
Consumer advocates say the impact won’t be limited to fast fashion.
Cars, groceries, home goods — virtually everything imported — is expected to get more expensive under the current policy landscape.
The backlash marks a new flashpoint in President Donald Trump’s escalating trade war.
Trump has pushed tariffs as a long-term strategy to revitalize American manufacturing and chip away at the $35 trillion national debt.
He’s supported high import taxes since the 1980s, casting the policy as a lever to punish foreign producers and reward domestic factories.
But the rhetoric clashes with campaign messaging.
In stump speeches during the 2024 election, Trump consistently said he would work to lower the cost of everyday goods.
‘People go to the grocery store, they have less than half a deal,’ Trump said on the trail.
Victoria Alario posted a video to TikTok on Wednesday showing that she was hit with an over $100 duty on her order from women’s clothing store Meshki
Instead, early signs point to shoppers paying more. And in the age of immediate social reaction, the pain is playing out in real time.
‘This had me gasping,’ Victoria Alario, a TikTok user, said after noticing $101.85 charge for duties on a clothing purchase.
‘This caught my eye so quick because I was like, where did that come from.’
So far, other indicators have shown the tariffs have had some negative impacts.
After a years-long streak of consecutive growth periods, yesterday’s GDP slumped by 0.3 percent, as Americans attempted to snap up foreign products before the tariffs started.
The last measure during President Biden’s administration read at positive 2.4 percent.
