Anged, the employers’ association that brings together companies such as El Corte Inglés, Ikea, Carrefour or Leroy Merlin, lashes out against Chinese e-commerce platforms and asks for legal tools to block their activity when it is clear that they present irregularities.
Something that, according to the association, happens, even if without consequences. “I cannot imagine a company in Spain that repeatedly sells irregular, dangerous or defective products and nothing happens to them. Legal recourse must be made so that, in case of non-compliance with these platforms, they can even be expelled from the market”, explained the president of Anged, Matilde García Duarte, in a meeting with the media.
The Spanish employers’ association is moving to Spain the controversy it opened in France over these platforms last month, after authorities in that country suspended access to Shein for selling sex dolls that resemble girls. Last Tuesday, the CEO of the Casino distribution group openly called for the blocking of Temu or Shein for two years until the European legislation is completed.
In the Spanish case, the employers of El Corte Inglés do not directly ask for the suspension of the activity of these platforms, but “limit them when it is clear that they do not comply with the rule”. According to García Duarte, the problem is that this investigative work is not carried out by the competent authorities. “We ask to strengthen compliance. That the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) and consumer associations can really investigate,” said the president of Anged, who also calls for more resources for the Revenue Agency in its work of inspection at customs entry points. “And even more so at this moment, which is a critical moment because Christmas and Black Friday are approaching.”
Anged estimates that 400 million parcels worth less than 150 euros arrive in Spain every year from Asian e-commerce platforms. At European level the figure is 4.6 billion. So far these packages have benefited from a tax exemption which will disappear from 2026, although employers at the main distribution companies consider it insufficient.
According to Marketplace Universe data processed by Anged, Spain is the first European country for penetration of Shein (52.6%) and Aliexpress (72.5%), and the second for Temu (25.7%).
Furthermore, Spain is the country where Chinese platforms have the highest share of online orders, with 34% by volume and 13% by value. The next largest country is Italy, with a share of 14% by volume and 6% by value, according to NIQ data for the first half of 2024. Since 2019, the number of shipments from Asia Pacific to Spain has tripled, according to CNMC. Shein is the first operator to enter fast fashion online in Spain with half the market share, according to NIQ; Temu has 12.6 million monthly users; and seven out of ten Internet users access Aliexpress
“Spain is a strategic country for Chinese platforms,” summarizes Anged, who excludes for the moment the adoption of legal measures against these platforms, since they promote associations in France due to unfair competition, deceptive practices, security shortcomings and gaps in data protection. A study conducted by several European associations, including the Spanish “Orthodox Church of Ukraine”, revealed that, of the 162 articles analyzed by Shein and Temu, more than 65% had irregularities and 25% were classified as potentially dangerous. This includes things like dangerous levels of heavy metals in clothing and jewelry; choking hazard toys for infants; incomplete information on the composition of cosmetics or dangerous electric heaters.
The president of Aged says she has transferred the problem to the Ministry of Industry, although, she says, it has made no move. García Duarte rejects the imposition of measures such as tariff increases, “because in the end the consumer would end up paying the consequences. We defend a legal instrument within the EU so that countries can close a website if it operates irregularly”, he summarized.
