Europa Posted on 2025-10-11 10:58:00

Germany launches investigation into Temu - Chinese trading giant suspected of price manipulation

From Kristi Ceta

Germany launches investigation into Temu - Chinese trading giant suspected of

Germany's Federal Cartel Office has launched an investigation into Chinese e-commerce giant Temu. The institution is seeking to examine the conditions the platform sets for merchants and the way it treats suppliers on which it depends for product sales.

“Every month, over 100 million users from European markets visit temu.com,” said the head of the German competition authority.

“For almost a year, the trading platform has also been open to German suppliers. We are investigating suspicions that Temu may have set unacceptable pricing conditions for traders in our market. These actions could pose a serious threat to competition and ultimately lead to price increases in other sales channels as well,” he added.

The investigation is officially focused on Temu's EU parent company, Whaleco Technology Limited, based in Dublin. Ireland is a country known for its favorable corporate tax policies.

Temu has around 19.3 million active users in Germany, which makes up more than a quarter of the country's adult population.

There are no exact figures for the platform's revenue or trading volume, but experts agree that the company will experience significant growth in 2024 as it expands into Europe and America. Estimates for annual revenue range from $30 billion to $70 billion, which would mean a doubling or quadrupling compared to 2023.

Temu has also faced criticism from the European Commission, which launched an investigation in July this year, accusing the company of violating EU laws. According to the bloc, the Chinese giant has not done enough to prevent the sale of illegal products on its platform.

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