Temu and Shein in a legal battle as they compete for U.S. customers

In a few short years, China-based apps Shein and Temu have surged within the U.S. consumer landscape, offering a seemingly endless variety of clothes, makeup and household goods for rock-bottom prices. 

Now, the two are locked in a legal battle, each accusing the other of illegal conduct in their quest to woo American shoppers. 

Temu sued Shein in federal court in Massachusetts, accusing the older company founded in 2012 of strong-arming suppliers into exclusivity agreements to deprive Temu of goods, in violation of U.S. antitrust laws.