The Darkish Aspect of Low cost Procuring
Think about opening your vacation items this 12 months and discovering a “Dolce and Banana” purse. There’s probability your reward got here from Temu — probably the most downloaded free app in America that’s quickly reshaping how we store. The truth is, one in 5 vacation purchases this season got here from Chinese language procuring apps like Temu.
I bear in mind the primary time I ordered one thing from Temu. It was a pair of neon Blue sun shades that price lower than a cup of espresso. Once they arrived, I couldn’t cease pondering at how absurdly low cost they have been — and but, they in some way labored completely.
However how did these corporations handle to take over American retail so rapidly? The reply lies in a captivating commerce loophole that dates again to the Thirties — one thing known as “de minimis.”
Again within the Thirties, lawmakers confronted a sensible drawback. Whereas they wished to guard American companies with tariffs on imported items, they realized it might be ridiculous to make your aunt pay customs charges simply to ship you a memento from Paris.
