Temu Gets EU Warning Over Dublin Foreign Subsidies Inspection

By Edith Hancock

The European Union told Temu-owner PDD Holdings and its subsidiary WhaleCo Technology that it is concerned the e-commerce group obstructed an inspection at its Dublin premises under the bloc's foreign subsidy rulebook.

The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said Friday that it inspected the company's premises in December 2025 over concerns that Temu may have received subsidies that distorted the internal market.

"The commission preliminarily finds that Temu has infringed its duty to actively cooperate on multiple aspects related to the conduct of the inspection," the commission said in a statement.

The regulator said it was concerned that Temu failed to comply with officials' requests for providing information on its organization and management and on specific records of its activities in the bloc.

The commission said if it confirms the findings, Temu may be in breach of its procedural obligations under the EU's foreign subsidies law. The rules came into force in 2023 and enable the commission to scrutinize companies that receive what it sees as potentially unfair foreign government backing.

A spokesperson for Temu said it doesn't agree with the commission's initial findings and that it cooperated fully during the inspection. "We will analyze and respond to the statement of grounds and trust the Commission will reconsider its position," the spokesperson said, adding that the company denies receiving distortive subsidies.

Write to Edith Hancock at edith.hancock@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 31, 2026 07:18 ET (11:18 GMT)