Temu and Shein are cutting back their spending on US social media advertising as they lose an exemption on tariffs for many of their shipments from China and Hong Kong.

The online e-tailers, both of which ship low-priced China-made goods direct to US shoppers, had been on an ad spree until recently. But under an executive order from Donald Trump, as of 2 May their sales valued at under $800 will no longer be exempt from US tariffs.

Temu and Shein plan to raise product prices next week as the removal of this “de minimis” exemption increases their costs. They are cutting ad spending on most platforms, according to two digital marketing firms.

Temu’s daily average US ad spend on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snap, X and YouTube declined a collective average of 31% in the two weeks from 31 March to 13 April compared with the previous 30 days, said Sensor Tower.

Shein’s daily average US ad spend on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Pinterest fell a collective average of 19% over the same period.

Mark Ballard, director of digital marketing research at Tinuiti, said Temu had sharply reduced ads on Google Shopping since 12 April.

Meta declined to comment while Google, Shein and Temu were not immediately available for comment.

With Reuters