US Congress Targets Chinese E-Commerce Giant Temu Over Forced Labor Allegations

China’s e-commerce platform Temu is rapidly growing in the global market and has emerged as a new target in U.S. politics, following last year’s short-form video platform TikTok. Since Temu serves as a conduit for importing goods that violate the Uughur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) into the U.S., some of the U.S. House of Representatives are arguing to close off this shopping channel and that Temu should be subject to regulations such as import bans.

According to the U.S. IT specialist media The Information on the 25th (local time), some Republican members, including Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer, have called for the Department of Homeland Security and others to include Temo in the list of UFLPA violators. UFLPA is a law that bans all products from companies that produce or handle products made from the forced labor of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The Biden administration enacted it as one of the measures to curb China in 2022.

Temu is a rapidly growing e-commerce platform that promotes itself with the slogan ‘Shop like a billionaire’ at affordable prices. It was the most downloaded app in the U.S. last year, and according to Sensor Tower, a market research firm, its Monthly Active Users (MAU) increased by more than 300% year-on-year to 51 million as of January this year. Temu showed its presence by broadcasting a 30-second commercial with an estimated cost of up to $7 million for 30 seconds, four times during the Super Bowl, the final of the NFL, held on the 11th of this month.

Temu and the online fashion shopping mall Shein have been under investigation for possible violations of the UFLPA by the U.S. House China Special Committee since May of last year. In U.S. politics, mainly Republican members argue that Temu is not taking sufficient measures to prevent forced labor by its businesses. The committee released a report in June last year pointing out that “Temu does not have a system to ensure compliance with the UFLPA” and “it only allows products made from forced labor to be imported to U.S. consumers.” Eleven Republican members also sent the Super Bowl broadcaster a letter requesting not to air Temu’s commercials.