A White House plan to narrow a trade loophole could mean painful times ahead for Chinese sellers on platforms such as Temu and Shein — and higher prices for U.S. consumers.
Which is something that can, and often does happen in unregulated free markets. The invisible hand is not necessarily very good at things like consumer protection, among other things.
If that was the issue, they’d take steps to ensure safety, ask for certifications, etc. rather than more tariffs and lower “de minimis” exemption. Clearly these decisions are made for economic reasons, not to ensure higher quality products and protect consumers.
Protectionism in the “land of free market” (irony)
There’s probably a degree of protectionism going on but these platforms sell unsafe products
Which is something that can, and often does happen in unregulated free markets. The invisible hand is not necessarily very good at things like consumer protection, among other things.
If that was the issue, they’d take steps to ensure safety, ask for certifications, etc. rather than more tariffs and lower “de minimis” exemption. Clearly these decisions are made for economic reasons, not to ensure higher quality products and protect consumers.