Norwegian government mulls Temu ban

OSLO – Norway is calling for a crackdown on Temu in the European Economic Area after an investigation found highly toxic products on the platform.

After toxins were found in goods from the Chinese e-commerce platform Temu in an investigation initiated by the Norwegian Environment Agency, the government said it is open to banning the product in Norway, Norwegian news outlet TV2 reported this morning.

“Enough is enough, Temu!” Environment Minister Andreas Bjelland Eriksen wrote on LinkedIn.

According to TV2, a children’s necklace sold on the platform contained 88% cadmium. Under the EU’s Toy Safety Directive, the maximum limit is 0.02%.

On LinkedIn, Eriksen wrote that in a review of children’s products on Temu, the vast majority of products contained substances that should be kept “far away from our kids,” also citing the environmental footprint of the goods.

The European Commission is expected to release its new strategy on e-commerce platforms on Wednesday, and a draft strategy seen by Euractiv takes a “holistic” approach, considering consumer, customs and environmental factors.

“We are open to banning the service. There’s no doubt we need stronger sanctions,” said Eriksen as he called for a “European solution”.

Norway is not part of the EU, but as part of the European Economic Area (EEA) it shares product requirements with the EU.

“We are also considering what we can do in Norway to achieve swift changes,” Eriksen wrote.

Temu and the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment did not respond to Euractiv’s request for comment by the time of publication.

[DE]