Explaining Brazil #295: Taxing the tops

Shein, the chinese fast-fashion marketplace, adored by Gen-Z, abhorred by designers, shrouded in controversy, but undeniably massive. Listeners I’m sure will have heard about Shein by now, its projects for an IPO, the allegations of forced labor, it’s revolutionary approach to fast-fashion designs and social media promotion, and getting tied up in tensions between the U.S. and China.

But that’s not what we’re going to talk about today.

For us, on Explaining Brazil, we’re focusing on the country’s crazy for Shein and a whole host of other East-Asian marketplaces, above all Ali Express and Shopee.

We’ll explain how these platforms got so popular in Brazil in the first place, why they are causing a very particularly Brazilian political crisis, and why while Shein may be a generational thing in the U.S. and Europe, it’s more of a class thing in Brazil.

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This episode used music from Uppbeat and Envato. License codes: Documentary by Anuch (Q9B3NJSW65), Aspire by Pryces (B6TUQLVYOWVKY02S), Ambient Technology Documentary by MusicLabProduction (5JA7SMRLQZ), Short Marimba Notifications by applehillstudios (ZC6Y4SGEQU), and Sci-Fi Technology by dimadjdocent (GWJQB95T6M).

Background reading:

• The House on Tuesday approved a bill setting a 20 percent tax on cross-border purchases worth up to USD 50. The Senate is expected to vote on it today.
• The matter of Shein and other East Asian marketplaces led to squabbles between President Lula and House Speaker Arthur Lira, arguably the two most powerful figures in Brazilian politics today.
• With the advent of the Remessa Conforme compliance program, Brazilian retailers chanced their arms at opening their own international marketplaces.
• The pushback against East Asian marketplaces began in 2022, under the Bolsonaro government, when a group of Brazilian retail executives asked the administration to restrict consumer purchases from these platforms, calling unfair competition.

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• #congress
• #lula
• #taxes