China claimed on Thursday that France’s new fast-fashion”, targeting major Asian e-commerce platforms including Shein and Temu was “clearly discriminatory.” Responding to these accusations, a source from a department linked to France’s Ministry of Foreign Minister Affairs told Euronews that these claims were false.
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A source from the French Foreign Trade and Attractiveness office said that new law was “not discriminatory” and that it was introduced to “protect the environment and consumers.”
“It is in everyone’s interest, including China’s, to have a peaceful relationship with France, with the European Union, and a civil trade relationship”, the source said.
Speaking at a press conference, Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson Huang Ling called for the suspension of the law, which was voted in July, before coming into force on Tuesday.
The law imposes fees on certain items which will eventually reach almost 20 euros per garment, as part of a push to curb the industry’s environmental and local economic impacts.
Ling accused France of leveraging arguments around environmental and sustainability to instead introduce a two-tier system, which she said could breach of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) anti-discrimination rules.
“If France persists, China will take the necessary measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies”, the spokeswoman said, adding that “France will bear all the consequences that ensue_._”
“No discrimination”
The source interviewed by Euronews said that if China objected to France’s new law, it was within its rights to raise the issue at the WTO level.
“The fact that China feels targeted is indeed something we have heard. We are of course ready to talk to them to understand to what extent they feel targeted […] If China has technical issues with the law, it is perfectly entitled to submit them to the WTO.”
“Our Parliament is sovereign and has had its say. It has passed this law and we will fully respect its decision. This kind of threat, this challenge to a state’s sovereign position, is coercion, economic retaliation. But for now, it remains a threat.”
The European Commission has previously expressed reservations about whether France’s “anti-fast-fashion” law is compatible with EU law, particularly in relation to its provisions which clamp down on advertising from fast-fashion companies.
However, according to the source, the law has undergone revisions and is robust. “We have taken the time to respond to the European Commission’s concerns, to questions about compatibility with various directives. Questions remain, but we are confident”,
“From our point of view, there are no outstanding issues”.
For now, China has not said what retaliatory measures it could take, but Beijing has already targeted French interests in the past, imposing anti-dumping measures on European brandy in 2024, after the European Union decided to impose duties on Chinese electric vehicles.
French cognac producers were among the business actors who found themselves at the heart of a customs stand-off between the European Union and China.
What does the law say?
Under the French legislation, ultra-fast fashion is determined according to two criteria: the volume of clothing placed on the market and the cost of repairing garments relative to their purchase price.
The per-item fee will vary on a set scale according to how each product scores on both these standards.
Shein, known for its ultra-low prices and rapidly produced clothes, made a tepid Hong Kong Stock Exchange debut on Tuesday, after previous plans for initial public offerings in New York and London were derailed.
The online retailer moved its headquarters to Singapore between 2021 and 2022, which analysts say was intended to avoid increasing global scrutiny of Chinese firms.
