By
AFP
Published
March 16, 2025
The tariffs imposed by the Trump administration will not expel Juggernaut Shein from the US market, said its executive president, Donald Tang, to the AFP.
The head of the online platform, who has faced scrutiny about his environmental footprint and accusations of human rights violations, also insisted that the company does not use forced labor.
Customers not affected
“We are not focusing on customs politics,” Tang said about the new imports of the US importation during a visit to France this week.
“We will find a way to deliver the products,” he added, saying that Shein's “business model” had seen the company through other global commercial inconveniences such as the Coronavirus pandemic.
This time, however, China is directly in Washington's sights, with 20% additional tariffs collected in imported products.
The Trump administration has also questioned whether imported packages worth less than $ 800 will continue to enjoy tax free state.
Shein, a firm founded in China but now based in Singapore, and Temu has taken advantage of that practice for years to send tens of billions of dollars in products to the United States from its network of Chinese factories.
Tang said that whatever happens, “we will do our best to ensure that the interest and experience of customers are not affected,” without detailing any detail.
No forced work
Like other important actors in the textile sector, Shein has faced regular accusations of exploiting members of the Uigur minority in the cotton and factories fields of the western province of Xinjiang.
Tang told AFP that forced labor policy is zero tolerance. We do not tolerate it at all, no questions are asked. “
He added that the company had a code of conduct “totally, 100% aligned with the Convention of the International Labor Organization” that required that the suppliers sign.
Once the agreements are in their place, “we have international renowned auditors that enter the factories with unnoticed visits,” Tang said.
David Hachfeld of the Public Eye campaign group, who has published an investigation into Shein, said the group's measures were insufficient.
“In manufacturing, 75 hours a week were typical for most workers,” Hachfeld said, with “a day and a half per month.”
Amnesty International has also asked that Shein is more transparent.
The campaign group has argued that any company operating in Xinjiang should establish human rights controls.
“If Shein has not undertaken this crucial step, she should stop her operations in Xinjiang,” Amnesty sent by AFP email.
“On the contrary, if the company is confident that it has eliminated such risks, it must publicly reveal how this has been verified.”
Market flotation
Many investors expect Shein to float in an important global stock market at some point in this year, with London as the most likely place.
But Tang did not give any clue to the plans, so he says that a list would reinforce confidence.
“We wanted to adopt the universal mechanism for responsibility and transparency, to have transparency as a requirement, not optional,” he told AFP, with the hope of Stoke “Public Trust, which is crucial for our long -term growth.”
In January, the head of the Business and Commerce Committee of the British Parliament said that he and other members were “horrified” due to the lack of transparency of Shein about where their products come from.
Tang said that since then the company has answered the questions of the parliamentarians.
The brand recently announced that it will invest 200 million euros ($ 220 million) in European circular economy and recycling projects to polish its image.
“We have been meeting different companies in Paris and other cities in France and talking with technology leaders” in the sector, Tang said, without appointing the possible partners.
It is likely to face a hard sale with respect to European environmental groups.
Friends of the Earth calculated in 2023 that Shein's operations, which, on average, add around 7,200 new items for sale daily, broadcast “between 15,000 and 20,000 tons of carbon dioxide” every 24 hours.
The European Union and individual countries, including France, are already weighing the regulations to limit waste from fast fashion giants.
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