China's E-Commerce Seller Faces Obstacles On US TikTok Shop

JAKARTA - China's e-commerce sellers who want to sell products on TikTok Shop in the US as an alternative to Amazon are disturbed by the steps taken by the short video app to tighten its enforcement of rules for foreign sellers who open stores on the platform.

TikTok, which is owned by China and is facing the threat of releasing its US operations or being banned, has taken a tougher stance on its enforcement in recent weeks, according to five Chinese sellers on the site and an industry association representing 3,000 Chinese stores selling products online.

TikTok requires US entities registered by sellers to be owned and led by US passport holders as much as 51%, according to seller andMINA Wang, executive chairman of the Shenzhen Cross-Border E-Commerce Association, China's largest sales group based in manufacturing center.

Many Chinese sellers have used US entities to be recognized as US traders on the platform but the rules mean they need to be re-registered as overseas sellers, who they say receive fewer prominences and support, putting them in an unfavorable position compared to US TikTok sellers.

Chinese sellers say they feel they are being targeted by TikTok rules and some of them are thinking of reducing the resources they have put in to encourage sales on the platform or looking for US partners.

"We are considering how much time and resources we put into this," said Shenzhen-based e-commerce seller Jackie Bai.

He and other sellers say that in comparison, Amazon does not differentiate between US sellers and other sellers on its platform, where all have access to central selling' and compete equally.

Amazon did not respond to requests for comment.

Bai and two other Chinese-based sellers said they heard from representatives of TikTok Shop that tightening the rules was a response to the political sensitivity facing TikTok in the US in the election year. TikTok declined to comment.

US officials have criticized the security and privacy of the app, suggesting user data may be shared with Beijing, but TikTok has said the company has never shared, or received requests to share US user data with the Chinese government.