According to a statement, the Portuguese postal company and the Chinese platform signed a “memorandum of understanding” in the city of Shenzhen that will allow Temu‘s local sellers in Europe to “benefit from road and sea transport solutions, warehousing, and parcel delivery”.
“This agreement marks a new chapter in the relationship between the two organisations, which intend to significantly expand cooperation in cross-border logistics and support Temu’s local seller program,” the statement says.
The Portuguese postal service, CTT, also indicates that the partnership with Temu—initiated in 2023—will “enhance more integrated, efficient, and competitive logistics solutions, contributing to a more agile and sustainable supply chain in the region.”
Quoted in the press release reported by Eco, a CTT spokesperson states that this agreement allows them to “leverage operational excellence and low-carbon transport practices to support more sellers across Europe, promoting innovation and value creation in the logistics sector.”
“By integrating our digital marketplace ecosystem with CTT’s strong logistics infrastructure in Iberia and beyond, we aim to better serve consumers and sellers throughout Europe,” emphasizes a Temu spokesperson.
The partnership between CTT and the Chinese platform began in November 2023, when the postal company revealed itself as “the exclusive delivery partner for Temu in the Portuguese market.”
The Asian company has been successful with its inexpensive products, not only in Portugal but also in the European Union (EU). But Brussels has shown a willingness to curb the growth of this type of platform, for example, by proposing the elimination of the tariff exemption applied to orders valued at less than €150 — which constitute the bulk of orders arriving in the EU from Chinese platforms and whose end is estimated to bring around one billion euros to the authorities of the 27 EU member states.
Furthermore, in July, the European Commission concluded, preliminarily, that the Chinese e-commerce platform violated the Digital Services Act (DSA) by failing to assess the risks of advertising illegal products.
Despite this preliminary conclusion, the final outcome of the investigation may still be different, given that Temu – considered a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) under European law – still has the chance to exercise its right to defend itself and respond to Brussels’ analysis.