BRUSSELS, Dec 10 (Reuters) – Temu’s European headquarters in Dublin were raided by EU regulators last week on concerns about potential Chinese state subsidies granted to the online retailer, a subsidiary of China’s ecommerce giant PDD Holdings, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
Temu did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The European Commission’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) takes aim at unfair foreign aid for companies with the goal of reining in competition from non-EU companies subsidised by their governments.
The Commission did not immediately reply to an emailed request for comment.
Temu sells everything from smartphones to duvet covers and leggings at ultra-low prices and has “shop like a billionaire” as its tagline. It has drawn in millions of cash-strapped shoppers in the U.S., its biggest market, and in the EU where it has around 116 million average monthly users.
The raid comes as the EU plans to crack down on low-value ecommerce shipments that have flooded into the bloc thanks to a customs waiver on parcels worth less than 150 euros. The EU executive plans to scrap that waiver by the end of next year.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, additional reporting by Helen Reid in London;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
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