TikTok ban could harm Amazon sellers looking for alternatives

In March, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill that could force ByteDance to divest TikTok or face a ban in U.S. app stores. Much of the related discussion and debate has centered around American data security and speech rights, but a potential move also highlights something else: TikTok is growing its focus on e-commerce, but the interplay of tech giants and geopolitics is squeezing smaller merchants. Over the past few months, merchants — many of them from China — looking for an Amazon alternative have flocked to TikTok to peddle clothes, cosmetics, electronics and a variety of other products to U.S. buyers, by way of TikTok Shop. In interviews with TechCrunch, sellers from Shenzhen — the Chinese megacity that’s a major hub for Amazon merchants —  said they felt a collective sense of frustration over rising geopolitical tensions and “helplessness” about a potential TikTok ban. “The situation is not within our control,” a retailer specializing in maternity and baby products told TechCrunch. “It’s just difficult to know how things will develop.” With existing supply chains hard to shift, “we just have to play i… Click below to read the full story from TechCrunch
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