The Vietnamese government has halted the activities of Chinese online retailers Temu and Shein as the companies have failed to comply with the Southeast Asian nation’s regulatory requirements for e-commerce services registration, Reuters has reported.
The government has raised issues regarding deep discounting practices and the potential sale of counterfeit goods by the Chinese online platforms.
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Vietnam issued an ultimatum to both companies in November 2024, mandating registration by the end of the month, otherwise their internet domains would be blocked and apps halted.
PDD Holdings’ subsidiary Temu, which expanded its services to Vietnamese consumers in October, missed the deadline, prompting the trade ministry to order a temporary suspension of its operations.
A statement from Vietnam’s trade ministry was quoted by the news agency as saying: “Temu operations will be temporarily suspended until it completes the registration procedure. The platform has submitted an application for e-commerce service activities in Vietnam which is under authorities’ review.”
The ministry did not specify the duration of the suspension or what steps Temu must undertake to resume operations.
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By GlobalDataOn Thursday 6 December 2024, Vietnamese-language options were no longer available on Temu’s website from within Vietnam.
“Temu is working with the Vietnam e-commerce and digital economy agency and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to register its provision of e-commerce services in Vietnam,” read a notice on Temu’s site.
The company claims to have submitted all necessary documents for registration but did not provide a timeline for restarting its services.
The status of Shein’s operations remains uncertain, as its Vietnamese website was also inaccessible.
The company stated: “Shein is committed to complying with the laws and regulations of the countries we operate in.”
Temu has also faced regulatory challenges in Indonesia, where authorities requested technology giants Google and Apple to remove it from app stores to protect local merchants.
In November 2024, the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network of national authorities and the European Commission (EC) notified Temu of several practices on its platform that infringe on EU consumer law.
In early December, Vietnam’s parliament called for foreign e-commerce platforms to pay value-added tax and recommended eliminating a tax exemption for low-cost imported goods.
