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The European Fee has carried out raids at Temu to research whether or not the Chinese language ecommerce group acquired unfair subsidies, amid a broader crackdown by the bloc towards billions of low cost Chinese language imports purchased on-line.
The fee mentioned it had “carried out an unannounced inspection on the premises of an organization lively within the ecommerce sector within the EU, underneath the International Subsidies Regulation”, with out naming the corporate concerned.
European officers advised the Monetary Occasions that Temu was the corporate in query.
Temu didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The bloc’s international subsidies regulation has been used a handful of instances because it was launched in 2023, largely towards Chinese language corporations amid rising concern that oversupply by the world’s largest producer is jeopardising European business.
The fee can impose wide-ranging treatments if it finds corporations acquired any type of direct or oblique contribution from non-EU governments.
The probe into Temu, a part of Chinese language group PDD, comes amid a broader crackdown by the bloc on the flood of imports from China from on-line retailers that additionally embody Shein.
Final yr 4.6bn such gadgets have been imported, with 91 per cent coming from China, in response to the fee. The EU is imposing customs fees on small packages from 2026 to assist shield home retailers from unfair competitors.
Temu is a web based market promoting every little thing from cell phones to garments and confectionery at low costs. It has quickly gained market share since launching in Europe in 2023, aided by aggressive digital advertising and marketing campaigns.
Its enterprise mannequin includes delivery particular person orders from warehouses in China on to customers’ properties within the west, thereby avoiding import duties on its largely low-value shipments.
Temu can be underneath European scrutiny underneath the fee’s landmark digital guidelines.
In July, Brussels accused the group of failing to do sufficient to forestall the sale of unlawful merchandise on its platform. That probe may result in a nice of as much as 6 per cent of its international annual income whether it is present in breach of the laws.
A number of European lawmakers have been pushing the fee to go even additional in its probes towards Temu, Shein and AliExpress — particularly since among the corporations have come under investigation by French authorities for promoting childlike intercourse dolls.
China’s annual global trade surplus just lately hit $1tn. French President Emmanuel Macron warned that China would face penalties if it didn’t rebalance its economic system and purchase extra international items in a go to to Beijing this month.
The raids have been first reported by MLex.
Extra reporting by Peter Foster in London
