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Temu, the controversial Chinese e-commerce giant trying to tackle Amazon, is returning to the large game on Sunday with a Super Bowl ad that lawmakers are calling on Paramount Global and CBS to not run.
The corporate, owned by PDD Holdings, skyrocketed to prominence last yr after it ran an ad in the course of the big game just a couple of months after it was founded.
Last yr’s commercial touted Temu’s low prices and invited consumers to buy “like a billionaire.” The multi-million dollar investment put Temu on the map and by the top of 2023, it was the No. 1 most-downloaded app within the U.S. with monthly energetic users topping 51 million this January, up nearly 300% yr over yr, in accordance with data from Sensor Tower.
The specifics of this yr’s ad have not been revealed, but already it’s marred in controversy.
The corporate is trying to win over U.S. shoppers by being the subsequent best “all the things store” with lower prices than competitors, but lawmakers say it uses slave labor in its supply chain and spies on its customers.
On Wednesday, 11 Republican lawmakers sent a letter to the CEOs of CBS, which is airing the Super Bowl, and parent company Paramount urging them to not run the commercial.
“Since last yr’s Super Bowl, Congress, through the House Select Committee on the Chinese Community Party, has uncovered alarming findings that indicate Temu has a pattern of noncompliance towards illicit products entering the US market,” the missive read.
“Specifically, Temu ‘doesn’t have any system to make sure compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). This all but guarantees that shipments from Temu containing products made with forced labor are entering the US regularly, in violation of the UFLPA,'” it says, citing the House committee report.
Allowing Temu’s industrial to air “can be a touchdown for the Chinese Communist Party against the house team,” the letter stated.
The letter was sent by Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.V., and signed by Reps. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., Jim Banks, R-Ind., Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., Christopher Smith, R-N.J., Pete Stauber, R-Minn., Ronny Jackson, R-Tex., Michelle Steel, R-Calif., Beth Van Duyne, R-Tex., James Baird, R-Ind. and Mike Carey, R-Ohio.
Paramount and CBS declined to comment.
Labor allegations
Temu, together with Shein and other apparel retailers with a producing presence in China, has been under congressional investigation from the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party since May.
While cotton and other raw materials that will be traced to forced labor is an issue across your entire fashion industry, Shein often provides data on how often banned cotton is present in its clothes and publishes the outcomes of the audits it conducts on its manufacturers. Other retailers also publish audit results.
Temu has yet to offer such data publicly.
“Company officials lazily point to boilerplate terms and conditions asking suppliers not to make use of forced labor, but Temu doesn’t conduct audits and has no compliance system to stop supporting atrocities,” committee member, Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., said in a Friday bulletin. “The corporate even admitted it ‘doesn’t expressly prohibit third-party sellers from selling products based on their origin within the Xinjiang Autonomous Region’ and completely disregards the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.”
In a press release to CNBC, Luetkemeyer called Temu’s ad “sickening.”
“Some people watch the Super Bowl for the commercials as much because the game. It’s sickening to think an organization built on slave labor with close ties to the Chinese Communist Party goes to make a direct appeal to hundreds of thousands of Americans abruptly,” said Luetkemeyer. “I hope it only draws attention to the sinister background of each Temu and Pinduoduo if and when people see it. A flashy commercial for the positioning’s low cost products is lipstick on the ugliest pig around.”
In response, a Temu spokesperson told CNBC its standards and practices surrounding using forced labor are “no different” from major e-commerce players like “Amazon, eBay and Etsy” and the allegations “are completely ungrounded.”
“Before establishing their stores and listing products on Temu, every seller has to sign an agreement. This document stands as a pledge to keep up lawful and compliant business operations, and cling strictly to the legal standards and regulations of their specific markets,” the spokesperson said.
“Using forced, penal, or child labor is strictly prohibited. Employment by all our merchants and suppliers have to be strictly voluntary. They shall respect the liberty of association and staff’ rights to collectively bargain. Temu’s merchants, suppliers, and other third parties must pay their employees and contractors on time and must comply with all applicable local wage and hours laws.”