The most likely turn of events this describes:
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American businesses place an order and pay for it.
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Goods placed in container by seller.
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Buyer realizes tariffs make the order too expensive and tries to cancel it.
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Seller agrees to a partial refund.
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Seller believes return shipping will be more expense than it's worth and says they don't want it back.
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Ship does similar calculus and dumps it.
These aren't temu or aliexpress orders going to consumers. Those get shipped by plane or from a local warehouse.