Call for US Product Safety Probe of Items Sold on Shein, Temu

US authorities have called for an investigation into reports that Chinese e-commerce platforms Shein and Temu are selling “deadly baby and toddler products” on their websites.

Two leaders of the US Consumer Products Safety Commission requested an agency probe following the reports, according to a letter posted on the US CPSC website on Tuesday.

US CPSC Commissioners Peter Feldman and Douglas Dziak want the agency to evaluate how Shein, which is now based in Singapore, plus China’s Temu and other foreign e-commerce platforms comply with its rules.

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They also want to know how they handle relationships with third-party sellers and represent imported products.

Shein and PDD Group’s Temu, which both ship cheap merchandise into the US from China, are raising “specific concerns” for the Commission for their use of de minimis – a US rule exempting packages valued at $800 or less from tariffs if they are sent directly to shoppers.

Critics of Shein and Temu attribute low prices and the de minimis regulation to Shein and Temu’s success in the US. Both companies have also come under scrutiny for the quality of their products.

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers last year planned to introduce a bill to eliminate the de minimis, which is widely used by e-commerce platforms including third-party sellers on Amazon.com and Walmart.com.