TikTok sellers complain of platform tightening US rule
SHENZHEN, China (Reuters) — Chinese e-commerce vendors that want to sell products on TikTok Shop in the US as an alternative to Amazon are upset by moves they say the short video app has made to tighten enforcement of its rules for overseas sellers opening shops on the platform.
Chinese-owned TikTok, which faces the threat of having to divest its US operations or be banned, has in recent weeks taken a harder stance toward enforcing its internal rules, according to five Chinese vendors on the site and an industry association that represents 3,000 Chinese stores selling products online.
TikTok is requiring that US entities registered by sellers be 51 percent US owned and chaired by a US passport holder, said the vendors and Winnie Wang, executive chair of the Shenzhen Cross Border E-Commerce Association, China’s largest sellers group based in the manufacturing hub.
Many Chinese sellers had used US entities to be recognized as US merchants on the platform but the rules mean they will need to be reregistered as overseas sellers, which they say receive less prominence and support, putting them at a disadvantage compared to US TikTok sellers.
TikTok, used by about 170 million Americans, has been seeking to strike the right balance between pursuing rapid growth and managing regulatory risks.
It has been ramping up its rhetoric that a US move to ban the platform would take billions of dollars out of the pockets of creators and small businesses, while simultaneously seeking to catch up to bigger rivals such as Shein and PDD-owned Temu by signing up more merchants.
A TikTok spokesperson said the company has clear policies and requirements for all sellers on its shop, including for international sellers, and these have not changed since TikTok Shop was introduced in the US in September 2023.
“TikTok maintains robust policies to protect customers and promote a trustworthy shopping environment, and we continually strengthen how we enforce our rules,” the spokesperson said, without commenting specifically on whether international sellers get less prominence.
The Chinese vendors said they feel targeted by TikTok’s rules and some are thinking about reducing the resources they put into pushing sales on the platform or finding US partners.
“We’re rethinking how much of our time and resources we put into this,” said Shenzhen-based e-commerce seller Jackie Bai.
He and another seller said that in comparison, Amazon does not differentiate between US and other sellers on its platform, with all having access to its “seller central” and competing equally.
Bai and two other China-based sellers said they heard from TikTok Shop representatives that the tightening of the rules was in response to the political sensitivities TikTok faces in the US in an election year.