European Union authorities have accused online retailer Temu of obstructing an inspection carried out at its Dublin offices in December of last year. The inspection was carried out as part of an investigation into whether the company benefited from Chinese state subsidies that could distort competition in the EU market.
The inspection was conducted between December 2 and 5, 2025, and involved the European Commission with assistance from Ireland’s Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC). The visit took place at the EU headquarters of Temu’s parent company, PDD Holdings, and its subsidiary, WhaleCo Technology, which have a registered address at St Stephen’s Green in Dublin. The CCPC confirmed it assisted during the inspection but said it had no role in the investigation after the visit or in the Commission’s decision to issue a statement of objections.
Following the inspection, the European Commission made a preliminary finding that Temu failed to cooperate fully.
In a statement issued to the Irish Independent, the Commission said Temu had “failed to comply with several basic requests” relating to information about its EU operations, management structure, IT systems, and company records. The Commission said these requests are standard in competition investigations and that the missing information prevented investigators from reviewing material that could be relevant to the case.
Temu has rejected the allegation, stating that it cooperated fully with inspectors and complied with all requests made during the inspection. The company also said it is committed to fair competition and that its EU operations are funded through its own cash flows.
Temu entered the European market in 2023 and has since attracted upwards of 130 million users thanks to their staggeringly inexpensive (and often dubiously marketed) offerings.
In May, the European Commission fined the company €200 million for failing to reduce the risk of illegal products being sold on its platform.
This most recent investigation falls under the EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation, introduced three years ago to address unfair competition from non-EU companies receiving government subsidies. If a violation is confirmed, penalties could reach up to 1 percent of annual turnover.
WhaleCo Technology — a subsidiary of Temu parent company PDD Holdings — incorporated in Ireland in July 2022 and reported revenue of $1.7 billion in 2024, up from $758 million the previous year.
