German Federal Cartel Office Targets Temu Over Marketplace Pricing Practices
Contacts
Associate
Germany
As an associate in our Competition and EU team in Düsseldorf, I advise on transactions (merger control), cooperation and distribution agreements, IP, and compliance.
Partner
Germany
I am a partner in competition law. I specialise in transactions, commercial disputes, IP, IT and compliance. My sector focus is on the automotive supply industry, tech & comms, consumer electronics and on regulated industries. I strive to add value to my client's businesses by providing legal advice that can be used to achieve measurable business objectives.
Associate
Germany
I am an associate in our Competition Law practice in Düsseldorf. I advise clients of all sizes on various topics of EU and German competition law, including on M&A transactions (merger control & FDI), corporate cooperations, sales & distribution and IP-related matters.
According to a press release of 8 October 2025, the German Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”), likely triggered (or at least influenced) by a complaint by the German Trade Association (Handelsverband Deutschland e.V., “HDE”), launched an investigation against Chinese-owned online marketplace Temu, based in Dublin, Ireland (“Temu”), and targeted at Temu’s online marketplace terms & conditions.
Facts of the Case
Temu operates online trading platforms in Germany (since 2023) and elsewhere, offering a wide range of products without acting as a seller itself. In May 2024, Temu was designated as a Very Large Online Platform (“VLOP”) under the Digital Services Act (“DSA”), reporting an average of 115.7 million monthly active users in the European Union in the first half of 2025, including 19.3 million in Germany.
The FCO is investigating the suspicion that Temu may have imposed illegal restrictions on sellers’ pricing autonomy when offering goods and services on Temu’s German marketplace. While the details are still unclear to date, HDE, for example, alleges that Temu requests that sellers do not price above 85% of the prices at which comparable products are sold on competing platforms, thereby restricting sellers’ pricing autonomy. You could argue that maximum prices are pro-competitive in that they keep prices low and spark (inter- and/or intra-) price competition, including between competing platforms, which ultimately benefits consumers. However, fixing a reseller’s resale price is considered illegal resale price maintenance (“RPM”) under EU as well as German law and that is what HDE appears to allege (i.e., Temu reserving the right to determine the final sales prices itself), in addition to anti-competitive price parity clauses. Obviously, should the investigation confirm the allegations raised against Temu, a block exemption under the VBER would not be available to Temu (since RPM is a ‘hardcore’ restriction of competition) and Temu may face significant fines.
Conclusion
The proceedings against Temu represent the latest in a growing number of cases against digital platforms. The FCO’s investigation demonstrates that price parity clauses and RPM remain a priority enforcement area, not only of the FCO but of antitrust watchdogs around the globe. The decision is expected to shed further light on how the German and EU competition rules governing price parity and/or RPM relate to large digital platforms who are not a “supplier” (within the meaning of the VBER) of the price-restricted goods and services themselves but rather of intermediary platform services. We will keep you informed about the proceedings.
For more information or guidance in this area, please contact Stephan Waldheim, Tamy Tietze or Gitty Narymany Shandy.