As Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs are set to take impact, Amazon is tweaking a few of the way it does enterprise — particularly the way it operates Amazon Haul, the corporate’s model of discount bin Chinese websites like Temu and Shein.
The Information reported Tuesday that Amazon Haul choices will now embody merchandise from well-known manufacturers like Adidas, Levi’s, and Gap which can be shipped from Amazon’s stock held in warehouses within the US. This is just about the alternative of what Haul initially promised: very (very) low-cost unbranded merchandise coming instantly from producers in China. In alternate for ready per week or two for packages to come back from China, Amazon Haul consumers bought to load up their digital buying carts with clothes, equipment, dwelling items, and extra that had been all priced below $20.
That baseline has gone out the window: scrolling via Haul, a brand new “Brand Faves” part options merchandise from firms that American consumers are extra accustomed to, like Under Armour, The Children’s Place, and Vera Bradley. The below $20 hook additionally appears irrelevant now: in a couple of seconds of searching I discovered make-up pouches for $20.99, leggings for $27.20, and attire for $34.82. Some of these merchandise are the identical value on Haul and they’re on basic Amazon, which raises the query of why a consumer would purchase it on Haul to start with. Amazon didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The change to how Haul operates is probably going related to tariffs imposed by Trump, which is able to tax all imports coming into the US. But as I’ve written beforehand, companies like Haul are uniquely susceptible as a result of their tremendous low costs are depending on optimum commerce insurance policies that almost all consumers by no means consider. Specifically, Haul (in addition to Shein, Temu, AliExpress and drop delivery operations) relied on a carve out that enables packages valued below $800 to enter the US responsibility free. The so-called de minimis rule has been extensively used — 1.4 billion packages claimed it in 2024 — however now Trump plans to kill the exemption starting May 2nd. That places Amazon Haul consumers on the hook for duties they in any other case can be exempt from.
Amazon’s transfer in the direction of stocking its Haul part with stock already within the US avoids these new tariffs — at the least quickly. To be clear, it seems nearly all of the merchandise listed on Haul are nonetheless of the Temu selection, however starting subsequent month, consumers might be chargeable for tariffs if Trump’s plan proceeds as he’s threatened it’ll. But by fulfilling Haul orders utilizing inventory that’s already in US warehouses, Amazon is shopping for itself somewhat little bit of time. But in just some weeks, consumers’ “hauls” of low-cost issues will possible be much less reasonably priced.
