Indonesia wants to ban Chinese app Temu to protect small businesses

Jakarta. Indonesia’s government is considering a ban on China’s online marketplace Temu, which facilitates direct transactions between Chinese manufacturers and global consumers, citing concerns it could harm local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), an official said on Wednesday.

If Temu is allowed to operate in Indonesia, it could disrupt local distribution channels and flood the market with cheap products shipped directly from China, said Fiki Satari, an adviser to the Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs.

“China-based Temu had previously tried to register its trademark with the Directorate-General for Intellectual Property Rights, but was unsuccessful because an Indonesian company had already claimed the name. However, we must remain vigilant to prevent its introduction,” Fiki said in a statement. press statement.

He added: “Allowing Temu to enter Indonesia would threaten domestic SMEs as the platform enables direct transactions between Chinese factories and consumers in the destination country.”

Direct cross-border transactions without intermediaries such as sellers, resellers or freight forwarders allow manufacturers to keep prices extremely low, creating competition that has the potential to undermine small businesses in the countries where they operate.

According to Fiki, Temu has already penetrated the markets of the United States, Europe and several Southeast Asian countries.

Fiki urged the Directorate General of Intellectual Property Rights and the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology to block Temu from entering Indonesia to protect the country’s SMEs.

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