AwesomeCapital

Thursday, November 6, 2025

Temu offers ‘aggressive’ payouts to lure US retailers as Chinese company grapples with tariffs

Online Chinese discounter Temu is offering $1,000 to middlemen who get US retailers to sell goods on its platform as it grapples with President Trump’s tariffs, The Post has learned.

The offer comes after the US ended a tariff loophole called the “de minimus” exemption, which allowed businesses like Temu to ship goods valued under $800 to the US without paying any duties, earlier this year.

Now Temu is scrambling to expand its network of US sellers to avoid tariffs and shipping costs on the made-in-China clothing, jewelry and home goods it specializes in.

“Their beloved loophole is dead,” Amazon consultant Jon Elder told The Post this week.

“Temu is much more aggressive because they want to be a cheap Amazon,” he added.

Another Amazon consultant, Abeer Jawaid, shared on LinkedIn that she’d received the Temu offer in her inbox, too.

A spokesperson for Temu declined to comment on the specific promotion or whether it was inspired by the end of the “de minimis” exemption.

But Temu acknowledged that it is rapidly expanding its network of local merchants after opening its marketplace to US sellers in November 2024.

“Temu is offering an additional channel for local sellers to reach new audiences,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We aim to support the growth of local businesses while giving consumers more choices.”

Temu is owned by conglomerate PDD Holdings, which is headquartered in Shanghai and Dublin. PDD’s shares are up about 40% year to date and its revenue grew by 7%, to $14.5 billion, in the most recent quarter. That was its slowest growth in years, apparently due to the tariffs.

Shop Succulents’ owner Jessica De Gennaro has been selling plants on Temu since February, but she recently got an email offering her a fee-free period “as if I was not on the platform.”

“I actually thought about contacting them asking whether I’m eligible because my company was one of its earlier sellers,” she told The Post.

Some see the promotions as “reeking of desperation,” said Chris McCabe, a former Amazon account investigator turned e-commerce consultant.

Prior to the start of the tariffs, it was boom times for Temu and its Chinese rival Shein.

The “de minimus” rule — which dates back to the 1930s and was intended to let American tourists bring souvenirs home hassle-free — helped enable the fast-fashion companies’ explosive growth. Shein and Temu’s exports soared to $66 billion in 2023, up from $5.3 billion in 2018, according to a report the Congressional Research Service published earlier this year.

US tariffs on goods from China currently range from 47% to 57%, Trump said last month.

https://nypost.com/2025/11/06/business/temu-offers-aggressive-1000-payouts-to-lure-us-retailers-as-chinese-company-grapples-with-tariffs/

GOP senators push to deport illegal immigrant welfare ‘fraudsters,’ ban them from US permanently

A group of GOP senators is unveiling new legislation to automatically deport and permanently ban the entry of illegal immigrants who are caught defrauding welfare or other public benefits programs.

The Deporting Fraudsters Act, unveiled by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Mike Lee (R-Utah), would also clarify in federal law that any illegal immigrant convicted of defrauding the US government broadly is inadmissible and deportable.

“Americans who meet eligibility requirements should be the only ones to receive taxpayer-funded benefits,” Cruz said in a statement to The Post.

U.S. Border Patrol officers detaining a person beside a white van. — Republican senators want deport and permanently bar illegal immigrants caught defrauding welfare.Getty Images

“Under the Biden administration’s border policies, abuse of these programs by illegal aliens increased. This bill will stem that abuse, and I urge my colleagues to pass this bill without delay.”

The measure modifies the Immigration and Nationality Act to ensure the automatic deportation and inadmissibility of illegal immigrants caught defrauding and mooching off Uncle Sam.

Inadmissibility means that illegal immigrants would be blocked from obtaining visas and returning to the United States after being deported.

At the moment, the Immigration and Nationality Act doesn’t include welfare fraud as a deportable or inadmissible offense, but instead mentions “moral turpitude,” which the senators feel is too vague and has led to inconsistent penalties.

“Illegal aliens who falsify documents, steal identities, and cheat the system to gain public benefits meant for American citizens, including SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] or Medicaid, should unquestionably be deported,” Cornyn said.

The Trump administration has been cracking down on ways in which illegal immigrants fraudulently obtain official federal or state documents, such as commercial driver’s licenses (CDL).

Aerial view of the U.S.-Mexico border wall at Gate 36 in El Paso, Texas, featuring the border wall, a canal, and a road. — The Trump administration has been aggressively clamping down on illegal immigration.NYPJ

Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress have been accusing Democrats of fighting to give healthcare benefits to individuals who haven’t been given legal status in the US as part of their government shutdown demands.

While federal law bars illegal immigrants from getting federal healthcare benefits, Democrats have demanded that Republicans reverse Medicaid reforms passed earlier this year to block funding for the roughly 1.4 million migrants deemed “lawfully present” in the US but lack court-enforceable legal status.

In 2022, an estimated 48% of families with illegal immigrants at the head of the household have reaped benefits from SNAP, according to a study by the Center for Immigration Studies.

Of those families, 59% use some form of welfare, per that study.

“By some estimates, these individuals receive $42 billion in public benefits every year. This bill will ensure that illegal aliens who steal the tax dollars of hardworking Americans are subject to deportation,” Lee said.

“Those who invade our country and then abuse our generosity through fraud and theft should be promptly deported.”

Rep. Dave Taylor (R-Ohio) is rolling out companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

“If an illegal alien defrauds the United States or steals benefits from our country’s most vulnerable, it should be a no-brainer that they be permanently removed from the United States,” he said. “Law-abiding, hard-working Ohioans should not have their tax dollars stolen by illegal aliens.”

https://nypost.com/2025/11/06/us-news/gop-senators-push-to-deport-illegal-immigrant-welfare-fraudsters/

Mamdani refuses to say if Schumer should face election challenge — as he lunches with AOC

Well, that was awkward.

One of Zohran Mamdani’s staffers cut short an interview with Politico when the mayor-elect was asked if US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) should face a primary challenge in 2028.

“I’m sorry, Joe, we gotta go,” a Mamdani spokesperson interrupted reporter Joe Anuta, according to the report.

The cringey exchange came a day after Mamdani’s historic Election Day victory, a result with Earth-shaking implications for New York City and the Democratic Party.

The unapologetic democratic socialist received a mixed-to-cool reception from many establishment Democrats during his phenomenal rise from dark-horse mayoral candidate to mayor-elect.

Schumer notably did not endorse Mamdani, but did post a statement congratulating him on his victory.

Progressives, however, rallied behind Mamdani, who had lunch with firebrand US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) — one of his biggest backers — Wednesday in Queens, documenting the powwow in a post on X.

“A busy first day as your Mayor-elect: early morning interviews, transition announcements and meetings. More to say on all of it tomorrow,” he wrote.

“But a highlight was lunch with my Congresswoman @AOC at Laliguras Bistro in Jackson Heights.”

Some Democrats have been pushing Ocasio-Cortez to primary Schumer.

Anuta, the Politico reporter, doggedly tried to get Mamdani to answer the query about whether Schumer should face a challenge, despite the interruption.

“I’m focused on this transition, my brother, but thank you,” Mamdani replied.

But he did congratulate the upstart – with whom he had partnered in 2021 to help debt-ridden taxi drivers – “on his well-earned & historic victory.”

“We have worked together on a number of vital issues — like delivering historic debt relief for taxi drivers,” Schumer posted on Tuesday night.

“I look forward to building on that partnership to keep NYC strong, fair, more affordable & thriving.”

https://nypost.com/2025/11/06/us-news/zohran-mamdani-refuses-to-say-if-chuck-schumer-should-face-election-challenge-as-he-lunches-with-aoc/

The Gotham City election, explained

By Stu Tarlowe

I’ve been trying to come up with an analogy to express what just transpired in the NYC mayoralty race. So far, the best I can muster is this one:

Everyone knows that Gotham City represents New York City. Well, the voters of Gotham City, given a choice between Batman and The Joker, have chosen The Joker.

And despite the name, The Joker, and the fact that these are characters in comic books, there is nothing even remotely funny about what just transpired.

Just as Batman is a fictional crimefighter, having devoted his entire life to fighting crime, Curtis Sliwa was a real-life crimefighter who has also devoted his entire life to fighting crime; any New Yorker who has been paying the slightest bit of attention over the past forty or more years knows this; it is indisputable.

And The Joker is a criminal mastermind, who seeks to exert control over all aspects of life in Gotham. Back when Americans better understood the goals and perils of communism (not to mention the goals and perils of Islam!), the analogy between The Joker and Zohran Mamdani would have been much clearer. But it still represents a choice between being unequivocally opposed to criminal activity, and being much more tolerant, even favorable, toward it.

A majority of Gotham City’s voters have chosen more crime over less, the criminal over the crimefighter, and ultimately have endorsed communism and slavery over capitalism and freedom. Like the Indians who “sold” Manhattan island for $24 worth of trinkets, they have sold out their city and their own futures for the promise of “free stuff” and fewer restrictions on criminality and anti-social behavior.

As for the other contender in the race, Andrew Cuomo represents The Penguin; perhaps not nearly as evil or dangerous as The Joker, but a criminal nevertheless and only a smidgen less un-desirable than The Joker, and still in no way preferable to Batman, at least not to any sane and normal resident of Gotham City. But sane and normal residents of Gotham City are now a distinct minority.

Author’s Note: Stu Tarlowe was born in NYC in 1948 and spent his formative years there, but has not lived there in decades. He has been contributing to American Thinker since 2010; most of his work for AT can be viewed here. He also posts on Stu’s Stack o’ Stuff, where subscriptions are still free and where the content is not exclusively political. For more than a decade, Stu was the personal editor for the late Conservative talk radio icon Barry Farber; his tribute to Barry Farber may be read here.

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/11/the_gotham_city_election_explained.html

Zohran the Barbarian Takes New York

By J.B. Shurk

The Islamification of the West is happening everywhere.

Now that New Yorkers have elected a terrorist-sympathizing communist to run their city, I think we can all agree that the barbarians are inside the city gates. Along with Mayor Sadiq Khan of London, Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York City represents the foreign face of major Western metropolises. What’s next? Should we expect an imam to take over Vatican City as the next pope?

Anybody who experienced the 9/11 Islamic terror attacks firsthand should feel queasy about what just happened in New York. Anybody who sacrificed years to fight Islamic extremism “over there” so that we wouldn’t be forced to fight anti-American zealots “over here” will surely feel an excruciating sensation akin to a swift kick to the nether regions. What was the point of the decades-long “Never forget!” mantra if its invocation ultimately left Americans with collective amnesia? Did American soldiers shed blood so that we could hand the financial capital of the world over to our civilizational enemies?

This will not end well. Zohran the Barbarian and Genghis Khan are just the beginning of Islam’s full-on conquest of the West. In London, Islamic pedophiles rape little boys and girls, and the great Khan does nothing. Islamic terrorists stab Brits and random tourists in the streets, and con man Khan blames Muslims’ murderous impulses on “Islamophobia” and “white supremacy.” Surely the Karl Marx-quoting Mamdani will want to prove that his own brand of crazy is on par with that of Grand Imam Khan’s steady exsanguination of London. If -- God forbid -- New York City were ever to suffer another 9/11, we won’t have Mayor Giuliani rallying New Yorkers to “see something, say something.” We’ll have a Hamas supporter lecturing Americans that “globalizing the intifada” is a good thing!

Americans in Dearborn, Michigan, are forced to hear Islamic calls to prayer booming from mosques’ outdoor loudspeakers several times each day. There are so many Somalis in Minneapolis that the whole city is Somali-town and native Minnesotans are the exotic foreigners living in Little America neighborhoods. The people who settled Michigan and Minnesota were tough, self-sufficient, devout Christians. They wouldn’t recognize the areas that have been handed over to non-Christian foreigners who have no intention of assimilating to American culture. The deep thinkers inside Washington, D.C.’s Deep State have spent the last several decades transplanting entire villages from the Middle East and Asia into the American heartland. Nobody should be surprised when those deadly decisions give America a heart attack.

Whenever I write about the danger of Islamic conquerors taking over the West, the pro-jihad brigades come out in force to denounce me as a “bigot” and “hater” before heading out on their suicide bomber runs. I don’t care. How many more examples do Americans and Europeans need before they understand that Islam is incompatible with the West? Freedom and personal liberty have no home in the Muslim world. Freedom of religion and free speech have no home in the Muslim world. Women’s rights do not exist in the Muslim world.

There is a reason why communists and Islamic supremacists find it so easy to work together while they undermine the West: Both support the creation of a totalitarian state empowered to dictate the day-to-day decisions of citizen-slaves. The Islamo-fascists have no problem turning a blind eye to the lifestyles of the LGBTQ crowd, so long as the “gays for Palestine” morons are successful in criminalizing Christianity as an impermissible form of discriminatory “hate speech.” Once the “Bake the cake!” harpies succeed in de-Christianizing the Christian West, the jihadis can start throwing proud pronoun people from the roofs of any buildings their suicide bombers have not already destroyed. With the Christians gone, nobody will remain to plead for the lives of those idiots whom Islamists no longer find politically useful.

However bad you might think the Islamic conquest in America has become, it is exponentially worse in the United Kingdom and across continental Europe. The elite ruling class over there has signed its death warrant because a majority-Muslim Europe will have no use for white aristocrats with historic pedigrees.

Various spellings of “Muhammad” are the most popular names for baby boys in England and Wales. Does anyone think Prince William will have a long reign when a near-majority of his kingdom hail from foreign lands and express allegiance to foreign states? It surely won’t take long for Britain’s Islamic conquerors to conclude that it makes much more sense to have one of their own sitting on the throne.

In France, historic Catholic Churches regularly go up in flames, and the cheese-eating frogs managing France’s demolition spend more energy deflecting rumors of Islamic terrorism than they do investigating suspicious arson.

In Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands, parents have to be on the lookout at all times for Islamic immigrants who believe it’s culturally justified to rape small children.

The future of Europe is clear: If you’re not wearing a burqa or busy studying the Quran, your days are numbered.

As for America, we can no longer pretend that what happens in Europe stays in Europe. Muslim calls to prayer blaring from Mississippi River towns prove that the Islamification of the West is happening everywhere. If there were any doubts, Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s election should dispel them.

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2025/11/zohran_the_barbarian_takes_new_york.html