MercadoLibre calls for tighter rules on Asian e-commerce rivals

The head of MercadoLibre Inc’s business in Argentina called for tougher regulations on fast-growing Chinese e-commerce platforms in Latin America, warning that an uneven playing field threatens local businesses and jobs.

“It’s important to have a good regulatory framework that’s equal for everyone competing,” Juan Martín de la Serna said at the ABECEB conference Tuesday in Buenos Aires, when asked about the growing presence of platforms like Temu and Shein in the region. “Regulations are very important, just as much in finance as in commerce.” 

It’s some of the clearest criticism yet from MercadoLibre executives regarding the rapid growth of Temu, Shein and other Asian e-commerce rivals in the region. Latin American governments are also taking notice. Mexico, Chile and Uruguay have all moved this year to tighten tax and import rules on low-cost goods from China to protect domestic retailers. 

In the first half of 2025, Temu’s monthly active users in the region soared 143 percent to 105 million from a year ago, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower. As Latin America’s largest e-commerce company, MercadoLibre is on track to end the year with more than 112,00 employees, mostly tied to its logistics network. The company has dominated in recent years, posting 27 straight quarters of annual growth above 30 percent.

De la Serna said the influx of cheap, low-quality imports from China risks undermining small and medium-sized businesses that account for about 90 percent of MercadoLibre’s sales volume. 

He added that the new competitors “obligated us to raise the bar and do things that perhaps we wouldn’t have done in the past, being more aggressive in terms of investments, and improving our logistics network.” Still, he warned jobs in the region were at risk.  

“When you open up the market indiscriminately and an Asian, Chinese firm sends you product by ship,” he said, “in reality you’re giving work to Chinese companies, not Argentines.” 

De la Serna also highlighted Argentina’s economic volatility as a barrier to MercadoLibre’s expansion in the country where it began. While the company has more than one million square metres of logistics space in Brazil and nearly 970,000 in Mexico, its capacity in Argentina had stagnated at 65,000 square metres for years, he pointed out. It invested US$65 million this year in a new logistics hub outside Buenos Aires. 

“Stability and the ability to plan ahead have always been more difficult,” he said, though he added that “conditions are significantly better than where we were coming from.”

The longtime executive recalled when Amazon Inc’s arrived in Brazil about a decade ago and made his company compete more. He welcomed competition from the US rival, but drew a line from what the competition from China is doing. 

“They forced us to raise the bar and be much more aggressive,” he said, referring to Amazon’s presence in Brazil. However, “what seems important to us is to differentiate – generally these Asian companies are selling low-quality products.”