Q: France recently introduced the Anti-Ultra-Fast Fashion Law (French Law No. 2026-602), which imposes a series of restrictive requirements on the ultra-fast fashion apparel industry and platforms. French officials have explicitly stated that the primary targets of the legislation are cross-border e-commerce platforms such as SHEIN, Temu, and AliExpress. What is MOFCOM’s comment on this?

A: China has noted that France’s recently enacted Anti-Ultra-Fast Fashion Law imposes discriminatory restrictions on Chinese-invested cross-border e-commerce platforms and seriously distorts fair competition through legislative means. China expresses grave concerns over this. China believes that this law, under the pretext of setting so-called environmental and sustainability standards, in fact pursues exclusionary measures. It is suspected of violating the non-discrimination principle of the WTO and already constitutes a trade barrier against China, seriously deviating from the principles of fair competition and free trade that France professes to uphold. This will not only harm the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, but will also hurt the vital interests of French consumers.

We urge the French side to abide by WTO rules, immediately correct the above-mentioned discriminatory practices, and provide a fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese-invested enterprises. China will closely follow the formulation of relevant implementing rules and implementation of this law. Should the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises are violated, China will take necessary countermeasures in response. (Released on July 22)