SHEIN’s US sales decline following end of tariff exemption

SHEIN Group Ltd.’s sales in the United States have fallen since the Trump administration ended a tariff exemption for small shipments, a move that had previously supported the fast-growing retailer’s expansion.

The de minimis policy, which allowed shipments worth up to US $ 800 to enter the US duty-free, ended on 29th August. Data from Bloomberg Second Measure, which tracks transactions of a set of anonymous US shoppers, showed that SHEIN’s sales in September declined by around 8% compared with the same month a year earlier, marking the second-worst monthly performance for the company in the past three years.

The Trump administration said the policy change aimed to level the playing field for US companies. SHEIN, founded in mainland China and now headquartered in Singapore, has grown rapidly in recent years by offering lower-priced goods made in Asia, with quarterly sales approaching US $ 10 billion in the first three months of 2025, Bloomberg reported in July.

The end of the de minimis exemption is expected to benefit SHEIN’s competitors in the fast-fashion sector, including H&M and Zara. Poonam Goyal, senior analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence covering retail e-commerce, said the policy change meant that “their prices aren’t as competitive as they were in the past,” adding that the “playing field has been levelled.”

Earlier in May, the White House had already removed the exemption for shipments from China, prompting SHEIN to raise prices, in some cases sharply. That move caused monthly US sales to drop by nearly 11%, according to Second Measure.

In response to these challenges, SHEIN has slowed its plans for an initial public offering and begun diversifying its supply chain, including reducing its reliance on China.