Few of the factory owners in this ramshackle part of Guangzhou in southern China have any idea what the “de minimis exemption” is or how it affects the level of tariffs their products face across the Pacific.
The week after Lunar New Year is usually a frenetic period in Nancun village, a warren of narrow alleyways in central Guangzhou crammed with garment workshops supplying e-commerce giants Shein and Temu.
This year, however, many of the businesses still had their doors locked days after the holiday ended. Those that had reopened only had a few workers sitting in front of their sewing machines, with most work stations left idle.
Zou Deli, a factory owner who has been a Shein supplier for over five years, had only one worker on shift due to a lack of orders. It was a striking contrast to previous years, she said.
“This time last year, the textiles and fabrics were piled up on the floor like mountains and we were working at full capacity,” Zou said.
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