WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security is investigating Chinese online retailer Temu for violating the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which could lead to a ban on the company's products in the United States, The Post exclusively reports. reported.
Officials and intelligence experts told The Post that the cheap company plays an unfair role in the U.S. market, monitoring users of its mobile apps and using it to obtain rock-bottom pricing. They say they rely on products made from slave labor.
A senior DHS official confirmed to the Post that the agency is investigating Thame for violations of slave labor laws, but the Biden administration has yet to take any action against the retailer. The company was conspicuously absent from the list of 29 Chinese companies added to the U.S. banned list on Friday for violating the UFPLA.
The UFLPA, drafted and promoted under the Trump administration and signed into law by President Biden in 2021, is designed to ensure that China, specifically the It prohibits the import of products that are partially manufactured. Forced labor camp.
Companies found to be in violation This provision will be published on the UFPLA Entity List and the sale of any product in the United States is prohibited.
“[Customs and Border Protection]”Enforcement of this law is critical to ensuring that goods imported into the United States are not the product of human suffering,” the agency said.
According to CBP, the law is one of the United States' strongest responses to the Chinese government's “systematic use of forced labor against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.”
Launched in 2022, Temu flooded the US and European markets with products ranging from clothing to keychains to furniture at a fraction of the price.
The website's bestseller on Monday, a “luxurious faux rabbit fur throw blanket,” was listed for $12.05 on Temu. That's less than a third of the price the same product sells for on Amazon.
Kevin Hulbert, a former senior intelligence officer in the CIA's Directorate of Operations and CEO of XK Group Business Intelligence, told the Post that Tem's suspiciously low price has alarmed authorities for years.
“It's really incredible that those guys can make a dress, ship it to the other side of the world, and sell it for $8 or so. So all kinds of companies in the United States… They’re going out of business,” Hulbert said. “Then the question arises, how do we do that?”
“They probably do it by using very cheap cotton in their products and so on, so that's the problem. Shockingly, we told Tem that none of their cotton was made using slave labor. We allow them to self-certify that the products used are not from Xinjiang.”
With a new presidential administration set to take office, some national security hawks are calling on the US to strip Mr. Tem of his ability to “self-certify” that his company has not violated the UFLPA.
Halbert said the intelligence sector has advanced technology to test the origin of some products, such as textiles, to prove or disprove dependence on products from Xinjiang. However, it is unclear whether DHS used this method for items from Temu.
“We can forensically examine the cotton to see where it came from,” he said. “For example, if you're wearing a cotton T-shirt right now, I would take that cotton T-shirt off and forensically examine it to see if the cotton was grown, grown, produced in Mississippi, Alabama. I can tell you whether it's from Tajikistan or whether it's from China or specifically from China's Xinjiang province. ”
“So that capability already exists,” he added.
In June 2023, the House of Commons Select Committee on the Communist Party of China reported to the federal government that Tem's business model allows companies to avoid UFPLA compliance responsibilities unless they can prove the goods were imported. In the letter, he called for an investigation into companies with ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Made without forced labor.
“U.S. consumers should know that the TEM supply chain is at extremely high risk of being contaminated with forced labor,” the report said.
Users of Temu's mobile app also face cybersecurity risks, similar to concerns that led to a parliamentary ban on social media platform TikTok, which was accused of spying on users and allowing access to Chinese government data. is causing.
“There's no way I would download it to my phone,” a DHS official told the Post. It is unclear whether these allegations are being investigated by authorities.
The European Union launched an investigation into Temu last month. The investigation found that the company violated the Digital Services Act for “conduct related to the sale of illegal products, the design of potentially addictive services, and systems used to encourage users to make purchases.” Includes whether or not it is. As data access for researchers. ”
Representatives for Mr. Temu did not respond to requests for comment.
