The U.S. House Select Committee on China, which was founded in January 2023, “focuses on American economic and security competition with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).” In June, the bipartisan committee (13 Republicans, 11 Democrats) opened an investigation into Chinese fast fashion brands, Shein and Temu.
Committee Chair Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) said: “Temu is doing next to nothing to keep its supply chains free from slave labor. At the same time, Temu and Shein are building empires around the de minimis loophole in our import rules—dodging import taxes and evading scrutiny on the millions of goods they sell to Americans. We need to take a hard look at this loophole that is being abused to tilt the playing field against American companies.”
This week, a coalition of 11 House Republicans is acting on the Committee’s findings and in a letter to CBS — and its parent company Paramount Global — is urging the network to not air a reported $15 million worth of Temu ads during Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday, February 11 on CBS.
This Super Bowl Sunday, Americans will not only watch the game, but $15 million worth of CCP backed ads. That is unacceptable.
— Rep. Carol Miller (@RepCarolMiller) February 8, 2024
Read the exclusive from @DailyCaller on the letter I sent to @CBS urging them to not air Temu ads. https://t.co/WJAU7caKgR
Rep. Carol Miller (R-WV) said in a statement to The Daily Caller: “The Chinese Communist Party wants to profit off the United States every chance they get. It is disgusting to subject the American people to a reported $15 million worth of ads for products made with Uyghur slave labor.”
Miller added, “Allowing Temu to air these ads during the most popular American sporting event would effectively be an endorsement of what the CCP stands for. I strongly urge CBS to remove any ad by Temu from the Super Bowl LVIII commercials.”
Below is the Temu App Official Big Game Ad, ‘Shop like a Billionaire,’ which was shown during Super Bowl LVII.
The Committee found that the de minimus loophole — Section 321 of the Tariff Act of 1930 — gives Temu an enormous advantage in the marketplace. The Chinese company, which facilitates the shipping of tens of millions of packages a year to the United States, paid $0 in import duties while the American fashion brand GAP paid $700 million in import duties in 2022. Temu and Shein are believed to account for 30% of all de minimus goods shipped to the U.S.
In addition to Miller, the letter to CBS/Paramount was signed by Republican Reps. Byron Donalds (FL), Jim Banks (IN), Nicole Malliotakis (NY), Christopher Smith (NJ), Pete Stauber (MN), Ronny Jackson (TX), Michelle Steel (CA), Beth Van Duyne (TX), James Baird (IN) and Mike Carey (OH).
CBS reported it had “virtually sold out” all its advertising inventory for the game months prior to its airing. The 2023 Super Bowl broadcast on FOX reportedly took in more than $600 million in ad dollars.
