Shein posts US lobbying tab as it stays in lawmakers’ cross hairs
- The outlay by Singapore-based Shein, launched in China in 2012, shows its moderate spending strategy to influence lawmakers, said the Centre for Responsive Politics
- US lawmakers are also questioning Shein’s data privacy and use of a US duty exemption on low-priced direct shipments to consumers
Shein, an online discount clothing retailer whose labour practices in China are being questioned by US lawmakers, spent US$600,000 in the second quarter in lobbying on Capitol Hill, its first filings of such registrations showed.
The outlay by Singapore-based Shein, launched in China in 2012, shows its moderate spending strategy to influence lawmakers on the Hill, said Daniel Auble, a senior researcher at the non-profit Centre for Responsive Politics, which tracks political giving and lobbying.
In May, a bipartisan group of two dozen US representatives urged the Securities and Exchange Commission to halt Shein’s potential initial public offering reported by Reuters, until the company verified it does not use forced labour or violate the Uygur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
Shein has denied using forced labour and that it was planning to go public in the US this year.
US lawmakers are also questioning Shein’s data privacy and use of a US duty exemption on low-priced direct shipments to consumers.
Shein’s US$600,000 lobbying outlay, filed on Friday, does not put it “among the biggest spenders”, Auble said.
By contrast, US retailers Walmart spent US$1.62 million and Gap spent US$140,000 in the second quarter, lobbying disclosures showed.