By Geert De Clercq and Helen Reid
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Commission has asked online fast-fashion retailer Shein to provide internal documents and more detailed information on risks linked to the presence of illegal goods and content on its marketplace, the EU executive said on Thursday.
Shein said it welcomes “efforts that enhance trust and safety for European consumers when shopping online”.
The Commission said it had given Shein a deadline of February 27 to provide detailed information on measures it has adopted to mitigate risks relating to consumer protection, public health and users’ wellbeing.
Under the powers granted by the Digital Services Act (DSA), the Commission also asked the Chinese online retailer about the transparency of its recommender systems, access to data for qualified researchers, and it requested details on the protection of users’ personal data.
It added the request related to an ongoing DSA investigation against Shein, which was founded in China and is headquartered in Singapore. The Commission has also been investigating Shein rival Temu, part of Chinese ecommerce giant PDD Holdings, under the DSA.
On Wednesday, the Commission said Temu and Shein, which is working towards a London IPO this year, would be held liable for the sale of unsafe products on their platforms, as part of a crackdown on cheap e-commerce imports into the European Union (EU).
It said its concerns were triggered by some 4.6 billion parcels worth less than 150 euros ($155.39) bought online and imported into the EU duty-free last year, equal to 12 million parcels per day, 91% of which came from China. The number of shipments was double that in 2023.
The EU executive, which has proposed customs reforms including ending the duty exemption for low-value shipments, said on Wednesday it aimed to bring forward some of the changes to 2026 rather than 2027.
As part of tariffs on China, U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration this week gave businesses just over 48 hours’ notice of the end of its equivalent “de minimis” provision, used by retailers including Temu and Shein to import packages worth less than $800 from China.
($1 = 0.9653 euros)
(Reporting by Geert De Clercq, additional reporting by Helen Reid;Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Sharon Singleton and Barbara Lewis)
