Argentine e-commerce giant Mercado Libre files complaint against Temu

Argentine e-commerce company Mercado Libre has filed a legal complaint against its Chinese competitor, Temu.  The filing, which comes amid the Asian platform’s growth in the country due to import liberalization, is the final step of a commercial conflict that has been waging for months now.  Now, Argentina’s Supreme Court will have to decide. In August 2025, Mercado Libre accused Temu of false advertising with the Trade Secretariat’s Undersecretariat of Consumer Protection and Fair Trade. In the motion, the Argentine platform argued that the Chinese company was pushing misleading messages to consumers about promotions and product prices. ⁠The Secretariat upheld the complaint and opened an investigation. It also ordered a precautionary measure against the Chinese company to suspend the reported practices.  Temu appealed and filed a lawsuit against Mercado Libre. It claimed the Argentine company made a “false complaint,” intending to get the Trade Secretariat to suspend its measures. The matter escalated, and earlier this week, the lawsuit got to the Supreme Court. The accusation A source with knowledge of the matter told the Herald that Mercado Libre accused Temu of engaging in “systematic misleading advertising” — advertising promotions or “extreme discounts” ranging from 80% to 100% that can only be obtained if the user meets additional conditions that are not initially revealed.  The Argentine company also accused its Chinese counterpart of “misleading gamification” — the use of playful dynamics that promise prizes or gifts, but create psychological pressure to continue interacting or purchasing. The complaint, meanwhile, lands at a moment when Chinese platforms like Temu and Shein are thriving. According to consulting firm Abeceb, Argentine purchases on the two platforms reached US$789 million through November, representing year-over-year growth of 291.8%. The development is a direct cause of the textile industry’s downfall, as it is one of the sectors that has been hit the hardest by Milei’s import liberalization.  The reduction or elimination of tariffs included in the president’s policies has led to the growth of Chinese platforms like Temu and Shein. The Argentine Chamber of Garment Manufacturers (CIAI) estimates that the textile industry is shedding 1,500 jobs a week. It also reported that purchases through international e-commerce platforms jumped 390% between July 2024 and the same month last year. In November, Mercado Libre’s founder and former CEO, Marcos Galperín, said he was “not worried” about the growth of Chinese e-commerce companies. Galperín is close to Milei and has repeatedly celebrated his policies. “We’re going to compete with them in the same way we’ve competed with them, very successfully so far, in many other countries on the continent,” he wrote on X back then. Industrial policy and international competition are making headlines in Argentina. This week, Milei taunted Paolo Rocca, one of the country’s wealthiest chief executive officers, by calling him Don Chatarrín (Mister Scrap Metal) after his company, Techint, lost out on a pipeline construction contract to an Indian company. The loss led to reported threats of an anti-dumping lawsuit and brought protectionism roaring into the limelight.