Competition in the e-commerce market in Argentina has escalated to a new level of legal tension. Mercado Libre filed a formal complaint with the Secretariat of Commerce against the Chinese platform Temu, accusing it of deploying misleading advertising strategies to attract users in the country. According to sources close to the case, the filing made in August 2025 warns of false messages directed at consumers regarding promotions, product prices, and supposedly unmissable offers. After analyzing the filing, the Secretariat of Commerce upheld the complaint and launched an official investigation into the Asian application. However, the complaint states that this is 'absolutely false' and that the costs appear in later instances or under unclarified conditions. Conditional coupons: The app promises the user a gift coupon for exorbitant amounts, such as $200,000 or $300,000. Among the evidence provided, advertisements within the platform offering discounts of '-940%' on clothing stand out, a figure that would imply the company pays the user nine times the value of the product to take it. The trap of coupons and free shipping. Industry sources detailed the alleged mechanisms that confuse the Argentine consumer: Fake free shipping: When downloading the app, Temu communicates with highlighted messages: 'Free shipping on all your orders'. However, after navigating several screens, the consumer discovers the fine print: to access the benefit, it is mandatory to purchase at least 3 items at the same time. From the environment of the company founded by Marcos Galperin, they emphasize that Mercado Libre operates in one of the most dynamic sectors of the economy, competing with global platforms and physical chains, but they demand that competition be governed by the current rules of fair trade. The agency ordered a precautionary measure ordering Temu to immediately suspend these commercial practices, although industry sources warn that the company continues to operate with the same modalities. Mathematically impossible discounts. The core of the conflict lies in the aggressiveness of the marketing campaigns of the newly arrived app, which include mathematically impossible promises.
