Sen. Rubio Calls on UK to Scrutinize Shein

After Chinese fast fashion powerhouse pulled its plans to list shares in the US, Congressional bedevilment persists. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) sent a letter to the U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, informing him of SHEIN’s reported human-rights abuses and exploitation of trade loopholes and the risks these tactics pose to businesses and investors. The letter urges Hunt to investigate SHEIN thoroughly before allowing the company to list on the London Stock Exchange.  

"For a company that claims to be Singaporean, SHEIN is unusually solicitous of the PRC government, as evidenced by the fact that the company sought the blessing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) before it attempted to list overseas," the senator writes. "Slave labor, sweatshops, and trade tricks are the dirty secrets behind SHEIN’s success. The United Kingdom has a storied tradition of abolitionism, from Wilberforce and Cowper to the Modern Slavery Act in our day. I trust you will treat these allegations against SHEIN with the utmost seriousness, investigate them fully, and take appropriate action to protect investors."

"Singapore Washing"

Hundreds, if not thousands of Chinese companies have redomiciled or re-registered in Singapore in recent years, according to the Financial Times.   In addition to providing a more palatable facade to western regulators and consumers, a Singapore domicile puts distance between Beijing's increasing influence in Hong Kong and Chinese firms' global treasuries.

link to letter]