Senate Republicans call for investigation into Temu app

Two Senate Republicans are calling on the Biden administration to investigate Tem, an online marketplace owned by its Chinese parent company.

Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) sent a letter to the Biden administration expressing concern about Tem and his ties to forced labor and intellectual property theft. He claimed that there was.

Mr. Cotton’s letter, dated Monday and 1st. National Review reportedstrongly urges President BidenInvestigate the system And to call on the authorities necessary to protect Americans from this dangerous Chinese application. ”

“Tem products are cheap not because of fair competition, but rather because of a combination of intellectual property theft, government subsidies, and human rights abuses that China is well known for,” Cotton’s letter said. It’s dark.

“Temu, for example, directly copies Amazon’s storefront and sells counterfeit Chinese versions at deep discounts. Temu also likely benefits from the use of slave labor.”

Rubio’s letter, dated Tuesday, asked Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Investigate the system “If they violate my Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) and are found to be in violation of that law, I will add them to UFLPA’s Entity List.”

UFLPA prohibits the import of goods produced using forced labor of the Uyghur minority in China.

Rubio, a UFLPA co-sponsor, said TEM lacks “even basic compliance or auditing systems to ensure products are compliant with UFLPA, and there is no enforcement to prohibit the use of forced labor.” There is a code of conduct that does not exist.”

“In fact, the company acknowledged that it ‘does not explicitly prohibit third-party sellers from selling products based on origin in Xinjiang,'” Rubio continued in the letter.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the department “responds directly to Congressional communications through official channels, and the Department will continue to respond appropriately to Congressional oversight.”

The Hill has reached out to the White House and Tem for comment.

Updated at 5:17 p.m.