"Screamingly unfair"

Temu and Shein: KiK boss complains about preferential treatment

In Zahn's view, Shein and Temu benefit from unlawful competitive advantages, for example in terms of customs.(Bild: AFP)

The head of the German textile discounter KiK, Patrick Zahn, complains that politicians are too lax in their crackdown on Asian shopping portals such as Shein and Temu. "We see with great incomprehension that it is even possible for such providers to operate on the market and not comply with the law," he said. 

In Zahn's view, Shein and Temu benefit from unlawful competitive advantages, for example in terms of customs. The Asian online platforms mainly use air freight. For orders from non-EU countries, no fees have to be paid on import for parcels with a value of less than 150 euros. This is "a blatant injustice". "We also pay customs duties," says Zahn. Foreign suppliers trading in Europe would have to do the same the other way round.

"Double standards"
According to Zahn, customs is completely overwhelmed by the situation. "The majority of parcels come in via Liège in Belgium. Between 400,000 and 500,000 parcels from Temu and Shein arrive there every day. There are six customs officers there. That means the inspection rate is zero. It is therefore necessary to check parcels from Asia more strictly. "It's funny how we apply double standards," says Zahn. The Supply Chain Act demands a lot from European companies, but not from portals such as Shein and Temu. Politicians are aware of this, but are not addressing the problem.