Consumer

Shein’s Robust US Growth Evaporates After Trump Tariff Hit

The White House ended tariff exemptions for all imported small packages in late August.   

A Shein distribution center in Whitestown, Indiana.

Photographer: AJ Mast/Bloomberg

Shein Group Ltd.’s sales in the US have taken a hit since the Trump administration ended a tariff exemption for small shipments that helped fuel the fast-growing retailer’s growth.

The policy, called de minimis, ended Aug. 29, and in September Shein’s observed sales declined about 8% from the same period a year ago, according to data from Bloomberg Second Measure, which tracks the transactions of an anonymous set of US shoppers. That marked the second-worst monthly performance of the past three years.