The EU said on Tuesday, May 20th, that it was preparing to impose a two-euro flat fee on the billions of low-value packages that flood into the bloc each year, the great majority from China.
Trade chief Maroš Šefčovič told the European Parliament that e-commerce platforms would be expected to pay the levy per parcel, which aims to help the European Union tackle the challenges from the massive influx of inexpensive items.
The fee would remove the customs-free status of packages worth less than 150 euros that are imported directly to consumers, often via platforms like Chinese-founded Temu and Shein.
Parcels sent directly to warehouses where they are stored in the EU would face a lower fee of 50 cents, Šefčovič said.
Last year, 4.6 billion such small packages entered the EU—more than 145 per second—with 91% originating in China. The EU expects the numbers to rise.
Platforms, including Shein and Temu, are suspected by Brussels of not doing enough to prevent the sale of products that do not meet European standards.
The EU also fears that many of the products imported into the 27-country bloc are unsafe, counterfeit, and potentially even dangerous to consumers.
