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Temu, Tariffs, and the Price of Starting Over
Give me my $5 T-shirt!
I’ll admit it: I’m a sucker for a good deal, more so now that my house with all its contents burnt to the ground, and I was left standing with a sweatshirt, tennis, shoes, and leggings and scrambling for something to wear.
In case you’ve never been through the disaster of losing everything, well . . . it takes a while for insurance to kick in. I’m still waiting, which is why Trump’s implementation of a 25% additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% additional tariff on imports from China is a big deal for consumers like me.
When everything is gone, every cent counts.
I’m not just shopping for clothes; I’m shopping for survival, for normalcy, for rebuilding my life. Platforms like Temu and Shein offer basics at prices I can afford. A $5 t-shirt isn’t just a t-shirt when it’s one of the only things I own. It’s a lifeline. But now, with these tariffs, even that small comfort feels like it’s slipping away.
If a 10% tariff is added to that $ 5 T-shirt, it is not five bucks anymore It’s $5.50. And while 50 cents might not sound like much, when I’m buying multiple items to replace an entire wardrobe, it adds up fast.
