GOP sen­a­tors call on Biden admin­is­tra­tion to inves­ti­gate pop­u­lar Chi­nese mar­ket­place web­sites

GOP senators call on Biden administration to investigate popular Chinese marketplace websites

Sen­a­tors Mar­co Rubio (R‑FL) and Tom Cot­ton (R‑AR) have both writ­ten let­ters to the Biden admin­is­tra­tion, call­ing for an inves­ti­ga­tion into Chi­nese-owned online retail sites Shein and Temu.
Cot­ton argued that Temu, in par­tic­u­lar, pos­es a sim­i­lar risk to Amer­i­cans as Tik­Tok does.
In their respec­tive let­ters, the sen­a­tors point to the two web­sites alleged­ly exploit­ing U.S. trade laws, under­cut­ting Amer­i­can busi­ness­es, their alleged use of forced labor, com­pro­mis­ing people’s data, and their strong back­ing by the Chi­nese Com­mu­nist Par­ty.

Sen. Tom Cot­ton (R‑AR) speaks with reporters Wednes­day, March 20, 2024, at the Sen­ate Sub­way on Capi­tol Hill in Wash­ing­ton. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

Temu, found­ed in 2022, has become the most down­loaded app in the Unit­ed States in 2024, with 51 mil­lion month­ly active users in Jan­u­ary, accord­ing to Rubio. The retail­er sells every­thing from clothes to wal­lets to gad­gets at a frac­tion of Amer­i­can retail­er prices. It has spent mil­lions on adver­tise­ments, includ­ing ads in the Super Bowl.
In his let­ter, …