The Unexpected Winners of Trump’s Trade War

But Shein and Temu have not stopped marketing completely. Instead, the two companies have chosen to move their advertising budgets abroad to regions where geopolitical risks were perceived as inferior and more abundant growth opportunities. Shein spent 22% of its overall advertising expenses on the American market during the second quarter, against 39% in the first three months of 2025, according to Sensor Tower. American expenditure in TEMU, on the other hand, increased from 47% to only 9%. As a result, sales of Shein and Temu in countries other than the United States, such as the United Kingdom, has increased to record summits.

But the dive did not last long. After reaching the bottom of the rocks in June, the two companies began to raise their American advertising expenses in July, show Shah’s data. In August, Shein spent more in marketing in the United States than in August 2024.

The figures reflect the fact that Chinese platforms had found a new game book: continue to ship products despite prices, transmit costs to consumers and remain competitive by focusing on the construction of independent supply chains and warehouse networks that can help reduce shipping costs.

The graphics of the App Store suggest that the new strategy is working. After a brief slide in popularity earlier this year, Shein and Temu again ranked in the top 5 applications in the Apple App Store Purchasing category and Google Play Store from Wednesday.

TEMU and Shein did not immediately respond to the requests for comments from Wired.

Behind the curve

The large Chinese platforms were preparing at the end of Minmis for more than a year and were able to quickly recalibrate their logistics strategies when the prices finally entered into force. The same cannot be said for independent stores.

Denys, Ukrainian owner of the Etsy store, says that he plans to need to increase the price of his products to stay afloat. “If the new prices remain, prices will inevitably increase by at least 10% in the future,” he says.

He recently started working with a local Ukrainian shipping company called Novapost, which intervened to help sellers sail in customs procedures and is committed to paying for cost increases for local businesses. The situation in Ukraine is much less chaotic than in other parts of the world, where many postal companies have completely interrupted the sending of plans to the United States due to the continuous confusion on the details of Trump’s trade policies.

I think we all benefit from being able to shop for small sellers around the world. In recent years, I have bought a 3D -printed topographic map of Canada, Germany art impressions and Denys woodwork in Ukraine. I did not decide to shop from foreign brands, but the global modern electronic commerce platforms gave me access to a wider range of products, which were often sold at lower prices than goods in nearby retail stores. Unless you learn carpentry myself, the Etsy store in Denys in Ukraine is probably the best option to get personalized affordable woodwork at home in New York.

But with the end of Minmis, many Americans could choose to reduce the purchase of handicrafts and other non -essential articles from abroad. If this happens, small sellers will be the hardest. “This mainly affects the purchase of pulses, then the things we don’t need,” said Juozas Kaziukėnas, analyst of the electronic commerce platform, to my colleague Boone Ashworth. “This does not affect the price of milk, for example.”

I always wait for my wooden slats, which, according to Denys, should finally erase customs soon. I hope companies like hers survive in this new ecosystem. Otherwise, I may have no choice but to take the carpentry, but who knows how much I should pay in prices on my new wood work tools?

This is an edition of Zeyi Yang And Louise Matsakis’ Newsletter made in China. Read the previous newsletters here.