Rubio Seeks CBP Investigation on Temu, Shein Sales of Goods Made With Slave Labor
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., wants CBP to investigate the role of slave labor in goods being sold over retail apps Temu and Shein, he said in an April 16 letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Rubio asked that CBP investigate the exporters and, if necessary, add them to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act’s Entity List, which keeps track of companies that sell merchandise produced with slave labor. Both companies have abused the de minimis provision to get goods tainted by forced labor into the U.S., the senator said.
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In 2023, the House Select Committee on China found that the two retail platforms are responsible for 30% of the total de minimis shipments into the U.S., Rubio said. He pointed out that CBP has the ability to stop importation of suspect goods under the UFLPA but has never done so, nor has it added a single exporter that uses slave labor to the act’s tracking list. “UFLPA will not make a difference if it is not implemented,” he said.
Rubio said journalists and other investigators have raised “compelling evidence” that both Shein and Temu facilitate the entry of goods produced with slave labor, pointing to a 2022 Bloomberg investigation finding that the garments Shein sells are made with cotton came from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, and a research report that Temu also ships products to the U.S. that it sourced from that area.
Temu also does nothing on its end to avoid producing or selling goods made with forced labor, Rubio said. And both apps, he added, are known to mishandle users’ personal data.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., also recently urged the Biden administration to take heed of dangers posed by Temu (see 2404160049).