Will China's Temu marketplace be blocked in Uzbekistan?

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China's Temu marketplace may cease operations in Uzbekistan. This was announced on February 27 by Kamronbek Muhammadiyev, head of the e-commerce department of the National Projects Agency, as reported by Spot.

Starting July 1, 2025, new regulations for international platforms will come into effect in Uzbekistan, including a notification registry and a special registry for e-commerce entities. According to the regulations that came into force on December 28, 2024, only legal entities – residents of the Republic of Uzbekistan – can operate as e-commerce operators.

Kamronbek Muhammadiyev noted Temu's aggressive marketing strategy for entering new markets abroad. According to the National Projects Agency, in 2024, the Chinese market spent $4 billion on marketing and price reductions, and this year their expenses could reach $10 billion.

“We are ready to ensure the protection of their rights and legitimate business interests and to assist in their official entry into the Uzbekistan market, but they need to apply. There has not yet been such [interest] from Temu, but there is movement. If the conditions are not met, we said that their activities could be halted, even to the point of blocking,” said Muhammadiyev.

When a Spot reporter inquired about the potential blocking date, the head of the e-commerce department responded, “It will happen soon.”

In turn, the first deputy director of the agency, Vyacheslav Pak, emphasized that the “illegal activities” of foreign marketplaces could “harm” the economy of Uzbekistan. According to him, tax and customs payments are not made when delivering goods to the local market, transportation and payment are not carried out by third-party companies, and currency outflow is also being observed. Due to Temu alone, the volume of currency outflow exceeded $10 million in 2024.

“Either they come to Uzbekistan and open a branch here, or they register with the tax authorities and become a VAT payer,” said Pak.

In his opinion, the absence of foreign market representatives in the republic deprives local consumers of the opportunity to return defective goods or file complaints.

For reference, since the end of last year, the Temu mobile application has ranked among the most popular applications in Uzbekistan.

The Cabinet of Ministers' decision regarding the restriction of activities of foreign e-commerce platforms not registered in Uzbekistan was adopted at the beginning of 2025. This concerns not only Temu but also a number of other marketplaces such as AliExpress, Amazon, and Ozon, as well as streaming services like Netflix and Spotify, and order aggregators like Booking.com and Airbnb, which are to be compelled to pay taxes in Uzbekistan.