Cosatu has asked government to ban Shein and Temu, backing a motion from the clothing and textile union Sactwu at its 15th National Congress at Emperor’s Palace in Johannesburg. The federation cited a 2025 study that estimated the two platforms could put up to 34,000 local jobs at risk by 2030, according to Daily Maverick. No ban has been tabled, and government has not said it will act. For anyone who runs or sells in retail, the motion matters because it puts cross-border e-commerce back on the political agenda.
What Cosatu resolved at the congress
Sactwu presented its motion on the third day of the congress, on 15 October. Members held up placards showing textile products, with job estimates on the back. According to Daily Maverick, the estimates ran from 7 to 304 jobs per industry across textiles, clothing, leather and cosmetics, and added up to 34,000.
Cosatu resolved to back the call. It also urged members to delete the Shein and Temu apps and buy only from local retailers. Sactwu president Susan Khumalo told delegates: “Shein and Temu now sell more products than other global retailers in South Africa.” She said the platforms are causing job losses and pushing down wages, benefits and working conditions.
Shein entered South Africa in 2020 and Temu followed in 2024. Daily Maverick reports that by the end of 2024 the two companies had captured R7.3 billion in sales, or 37.1% of the e-commerce market for retail, clothing, textile, footwear and leather, citing Reuters.
Where the 34,000 figure comes from
The number is the study’s projection, not an observed loss. The research was commissioned by the Localisation Support Fund, a local non-profit, and conducted by the consultancy B&M Analysts, according to Fast Company South Africa. The 64-page report models five growth scenarios for offshore platforms. If current trends persist, it says, up to 34,000 jobs could be adversely affected by 2030.
In the worst case, the report puts the loss at about R6.2 billion in annual manufacturing sales, with 16,400 manufacturing jobs and 18,300 retail jobs displaced. Those two figures sum to 34,700, and the coverage does not explain the gap to the 34,000 headline. EWN reported the same headline, that South Africa “could lose over 34,000 clothing retail and manufacturing jobs by 2030” if the platforms keep taking market share at current rates.
The study also counted losses it says have already happened: at least 2,800 manufacturing jobs projected for 2024 that did not materialise, and 5,000 retail jobs displaced. Those are modelled estimates too. Neither the Daily Maverick report nor the coverage of the study explains the underlying assumptions in detail, so the union’s use of the figure rests on the study’s modelling rather than on a count of jobs lost.
The study did not call for a ban. Its policy suggestions included better product labelling and returns processes, extended producer responsibility, and registration and licensing for offshore online retailers. Sactwu’s Simon Eppel, at the report launch, floated banning the apps as an option if mitigation fails.
What government has already done
The tax gap on small parcels has been narrowed. Until 2024, goods valued under R500 paid a flat 20% in place of customs duties and no VAT, while parcels above R500 faced a 45% import duty, according to Daily Maverick’s 2024 report on the SARS announcement.
From 1 September 2024, SARS added 15% VAT on top of the 20% flat rate, which it called an interim measure. It said it would replace the flat rate from 1 November 2024 with duty rates for other categories of goods, in line with World Customs Organization guidelines. BusinessTech carried the same dates. A consumer-facing explainer from Evetech adds that automated enforcement of a R150,000 annual cap on private imports under one customs code began in November 2025. That cap comes from a retailer’s blog, not a SARS notice, so check the primary notice before relying on it.
Daily Maverick says the removal of the exemption on goods under R500 coincided with a slowdown. It reports that Shein’s growth, previously 30% to 50% a year, slowed to 11% in 2025, and that Temu recorded average monthly declines of 42% over the same period.
Why economists warn against an outright ban
Refilwe Moloto, an independent economic strategist and board adviser, told Daily Maverick the 34,000 figure may be outdated because it was calculated before the SARS tax changes. The study itself was published in August 2025, after the September 2024 change, so whether and how it modelled those rules is a question for its authors.
Moloto warned that a ban would be uncompetitive and would carry trade-offs, and that protectionism of that kind would encourage “irregular and non-regulated trading.” She also pointed to local cost pressures facing domestic textile producers, including high energy prices, the collapse of rail transport and administrative costs. Her argument is that government may need to address input costs rather than the platforms alone. She noted that Shein and Temu have had a bigger impact in the US, France and Latin America than in South Africa.
What remains unknown
Several things are open. Government has not responded to the motion in the sources reviewed, and a ban would raise legal and trade questions that no source addresses. Shein and Temu had not commented in the coverage reviewed. The study’s detailed assumptions, and the reason its worst-case job split does not match the 34,000 headline, are not set out in the coverage.
The effect on retailers is also unclear. In the second quarter of 2024, the Bureau for Economic Research reported that confidence among semi-durable goods retailers fell to 38% from 68% in the first quarter, and said Shein “may also strain domestic clothing retailers.” That is a sentiment reading, not a measure of lost sales. Retailers will want to see whether the post-2024 duty changes are enough, or whether pressure for tougher measures, from licensing to a ban, grows after this congress.
