The European Commission accuses the (Timoo) platform of non-cooperation in an investigation into foreign support
Brussels, July 31 (KUNA) -- The European Commission on Friday accused the Chinese e-commerce company Temu of failing to cooperate effectively and of not providing the information requested during a surprise inspection carried out last December as part of an investigation into whether the platform may have benefited from foreign subsidies that could distort competition in the EU’s internal market.
In a statement, the Commission said it had sent a letter to Temu’s owner, PDD Holdings, and its subsidiary Weike Technology Limited, outlining its concerns that the inspection conducted at the company’s Irish subsidiary between December 2 and 5, 2025, under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, might have been obstructed.
The Commission added that an initial investigation concluded that Temu “breached its duty to cooperate effectively” in several aspects related to the implementation of the inspection. It explained that the company had not responded to several key requests made by the Commission in the exercise of its investigative powers under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, including providing information on the organization and management of Temu’s activities in the EU, as well as on the IT tools and systems used by the company in its operations within the bloc.
The Commission noted that the company also failed to provide specific records and books relating to its EU activities, pointing out that such requests are “standard practice” in competition investigations and are often made in the early stages of inspections. It stressed that the failure to provide this information “prevented it from reviewing sources of information that could be relevant to its investigation.”
The unannounced inspection followed indications that Temu may have received foreign subsidies capable of distorting the EU’s internal market, with the aim of gathering evidence to support the investigation into that matter.
The Commission clarified that its current allegations relate exclusively to the inspection conducted in December 2025, noting that Temu now has the right to respond to the concerns raised by the Commission.
Temu is one of Europe’s largest e-commerce platforms, with approximately 130 million users in the EU. (End) A.R.N. / M.N.F.
