At the meeting of the European Ministers for Industry and Competitiveness in Brussels on Thursday 26 September, around ten countries joined Germany in calling for a crackdown on the e-commerce sites of Temu and Shein, which are suspected of distorting competition and of selling products that are sometimes dangerous to consumers.
Twelve countries (Romania, Finland, Portugal, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria, Estonia, Poland, Belgium, Greece and Luxembourg) took the floor at the meeting to complain about the “unfair competition” and dangerous nature of these products, the entry of which into the EU is facilitated by an exemption from customs duties on parcels of less than €150.
Similarly, a majority of these same countries have expressed their support for strengthening the implementation of European legislation on digital services (DSA) and reforming customs rules.
The European Commission is aware of the problem and keen to point out that there was no foolproof solution, instead emphasising the need for cooperation between Member States to curb and control this phenomenon, which represents a challenge in terms of “safety”, “equity” and “sustainability”.
At the end of June, the Commission requested information from Temu and Shein pertaining to the reporting of illegal products (see EUROPE 13442/6). The two platforms were designated ‘very large online platforms’ (‘VLOPs’) by the Commission in April (see EUROPE 13400/11, 13421/8).
Several associations have already expressed their concern to the Commission about the massive influx of non-compliant products of foreign origin into Europe (see EUROPE 13487/8). (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)