When it was formulating those plans in late 2024, it seemed like a bet that, while risky, was worth making. US exemptions for duties on small parcels from China that underpinned its business model looked as if they would be abolished, Donald Trump had just been elected US president for a second term and fears of a heightened trade war were soon realised, with US tariffs on many Chinese goods rocketing to 145 per cent by April 2025. Shein started encouraging its biggest Chinese suppliers to set up manufacturing bases in Vietnam, but things did not go to plan. Today, IPO-bound Shein, known for selling US$5 tops and US$10 dresses, is drastically scaling back in Vietnam, six people familiar with its operations there said. At 15 hectares, the bonded logistics hub was the largest of its kind in the country and used to employ thousands.