Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) wants to pay more attention to the Asian shopping portals Temu and Shein. A spokesman confirmed that an “e-commerce action plan” was being drawn up. The business magazine “Capital” had previously reported: “It is crucial that existing legal regulations are enforced against traders from third countries just as consistently as against traders from the EU,” said a spokeswoman for the “Capital” ministry. This applies to the applicable standards for product safety, environmental protection and consumer protection as well as to customs and tax law. The ministry is therefore examining new measures and adapting existing regulations. Further details about the plan are not yet known. “We are firmly committed to complying with German and European laws and support all efforts that create fair competitive conditions that benefit consumers,” said a spokeswoman for Shein when asked about the action plan. Temu had also recently defended itself against allegations and, among other things, referred to the strict controls and safety standards that are required of suppliers. The company did not initially respond to a dpa inquiry about the ministry’s action plan.Survey: 43 percent of consumers use Shein and TemuIn recent months, according to “Capital”, there have already been discussions with the federal states as well as the EU Commission and the EU Parliament . State Secretary Sven Giegold (Greens) reportedly met with representatives of Temu and Shein. The aim of the effort is to “ensure fair competitive conditions for all market participants”. Shein and Temu are very popular in Germany. 43 percent of consumers buy from marketplaces, according to a recently published survey by the Cologne retail research institute IFH. However, the portals are controversial. Sales representatives, politicians and consumer advocates criticize, among other things, product quality, lack of controls, manipulative purchasing incentives and unfair competition conditions. The European toy association TIE commissioned a review of 19 Temu toys. The conclusion: Not a single product fully complied with EU regulations. 18 Toys are even a safety risk for children. Duty-free border in sight. Other negative reports keep coming up: about non-existent operating instructions in German or a missing CE mark, which is supposed to confirm compliance with European guidelines. The consumer advice centers recommend, among other things, not to pay in advance, to find out about customs regulations and to deactivate push messages and location tracking. There are also complaints that the providers benefit from legal loopholes such as the 150 euro duty-free limit. The Asian online platforms primarily use air freight. For orders from non-EU countries, no import fees have to be paid for packages with a value of less than 150 euros. Shein boss: “We want to solve the problem proactively” The company rejects criticism of its business practices. “Our business model is not based on tariff advantages,” said Shein boss Donald Tang in an interview with Handelsblatt. If the customs law changes, this will be implemented. Tang also contradicted the accusation that many shipments were incorrectly declared in order to comply with the 150 euro limit. The company is working to provide customs authorities with the necessary information before the packages arrive at the airport. “If the authorities wanted us to do that, we would do it. We want to solve the problem proactively.”More on the topic Regarding criticism of the product quality, Tang explained: “This is an image problem. There’s the old saying: If something is cheap, it can’t be good. We are changing that.” Asked about alleged poor working conditions and low standards, he said: “We are aware of these concerns and we are addressing these issues one by one. But I would like to emphasize that many of these allegations are not true.” Quality comes first. Last year, 400,000 tests were carried out to ensure that products complied with regulations. The safety of customers has absolute priority.
Go to Source