Report: Temu’s China Supply Chains May Utilize Forced Labor

Attention online shoppers! Temu, a Chinese retailer with the catchy tagline “shop like a billionaire,” has been caught exposing consumers to products made with forced labor in China. A recent congressional report titled “Fast Fashion and the Uyghur Genocide: Interim Findings” by the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) reveals the alarming truth.

The report states, “American consumers should know that there is an extremely high risk that Temu’s supply chains are contaminated with forced labor.” It further adds, “Temu does not have any system to ensure compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), guaranteeing that shipments from Temu containing products made with forced labor are entering the United States on a regular basis, in violation of the UFLPA.”

The UFLPA, which went into effect in June 2022, bans imports from China’s Xinjiang region unless companies can prove products were not produced with forced labor.

Currently, over a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities are being held in Chinese internment camps, where they face unimaginable horrors such as forced labor, torture, sexual abuse, political indoctrination, forced abortion, and forced sterilization. The U.S. government has declared this persecution as genocide.

Uncovering the “De Minimis Loophole”

The report reveals shocking findings about Temu’s lack of effort to keep its supply chains free from slave labor. Representative Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), who heads the committee, expressed his dismay, stating, “Temu and Shein are building empires around the de minimis loophole in our import rules—dodging import taxes and evading scrutiny on the millions of goods they sell to Americans.” He emphasized the need to address this loophole that disadvantages American companies.

According to the report, in 2022, over 685 million shipments entered the United States under the de minimis provision, which exempts shipments up to $800 from duty and tax. Temu and Shein likely accounted for more than 30 percent of all global de minimis shipments into the United States last year.

The report states, “These initial and interim findings raise serious concerns about the continued presence of products made with forced labor contaminating American imports.”

Temu, owned by Chinese e-commerce giant PDD Holdings, has become one of the most popular shopping apps on Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store. However, the report reveals that Temu does not expressly prohibit third-party sellers from selling products originating in Xinjiang, dismissing accountability for products made with forced labor.

Strengthening Laws to Combat Forced Labor

Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), ranking member of the committee, emphasizes the need for transparency by companies potentially profiting from CCP forced labor. He states, “Our Select Committee heard from experts under oath that these practices persist to this day, and we intend to strengthen laws like the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act to put an end to them once and for all.”