Chinese retailers cut Facebook and Instagram advertising spending due to Trump policies

Chinese online retailers have cut spending on Facebook and Instagram ads due to President Donald Trump's tough trade measures, Meta CFO Susan Li said during the announcement of first-quarter financial results, CNBC reports.

"A portion of that spend has been redirected to other markets, but overall spend for those advertisers is below the levels prior to April," Li noted.

Trump signed an executive order in April to end the tariff exemption for Chinese imports that Temu and Shein enjoyed. Analysts believe that these companies account for the bulk of Meta's revenue from China, which is expected to be $18.35 billion by 2024.

Meta reported that advertising revenue in the Asia-Pacific region was $8.22 billion, below the forecast of $8.42 billion. Expected revenue in the second quarter is $42.5-45.5 billion, which is in line with forecasts.

Google and Snap have also warned of difficulties in the Asian advertising market.

Meanwhile, Trump's tariffs on China (145%) also affected Meta Reality Labs, a division that deals with VR and AR devices. Reality Labs suffered a loss of $4.2 billion on revenue of $412 million.

Meta has increased its 2025 capital expenditure forecast to $64–72 billion (previously $60–65 billion) due to additional investments in data centers and rising equipment costs.

Li added that Meta is adjusting supply chains due to trade uncertainty.