According to The Information, Temu has opened its local warehouse program to vendors with corporate entities registered in Europe and to holders of European passports. Vendors with European corporate entities but holding Chinese passports must apply with a European entity under an existing Amazon storefront, with the objective of attracting Amazon’s third-party sellers in China.
The local warehouse program has been operating since March and requires vendors to store their inventory in the markets where they sell and to handle delivery themselves. Until last week, the program was open only to vendors with corporate entities in or holding passports issued by the US, mainland China or Hong Kong. From the customer end, it is open in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
The Information reports also that Temu has revised a policy that obliged vendors selling to American customers to ship only from Chinese factories. The policy had the benefit of avoiding US customs duties under certain conditions – those of the “de minimis loophole” we reported on in March. Under the Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, one person may in a single day import up to $800 in merchandise free of duties and taxes.
