EU plans €2 tariff for parcels

The European Union (EU) said yesterday it is preparing to impose a flat rate of two euros ($2.25) on the billions of low-value packages that flood the bloc each year, the vast majority of which come from China.

Trade chief Maros Sefcovic told the European Parliament that e-commerce platforms are expected to pay the tax per package, which is intended to help the EU address the challenges of a massive influx of cheap goods.

The tax would remove the customs-free status of packages valued under €150 that are imported directly to consumers, often through platforms like Temu and Shein , founded in China.

Packages sent directly to warehouses in the EU would face a lower rate of 50 cents, Sefcovic said.

Last year, 4.6 billion of these small packages entered the EU (more than 145 per second), 91% of which came from China. The EU expects these numbers to rise.

Brussels suspects that platforms, including Shein and Temu, are 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.

Sefcovic explained that the figure represents "a completely new challenge for control, for security, for ensuring that the standards of products shipped to the European Union are adequately verified."

European retailers say they face unfair competition from foreign platforms, which they say often fail to comply with strict EU product standards.

Offset costs

Sefcovic highlighted the "enormous" workload of customs officials, "therefore, I would not consider the handling fee as a tax, but simply as a fee to offset the cost."

Brussels also expects a portion of the revenue from the tax to be allocated to the EU budget.

Paris is particularly concerned about this issue: last year, around 800 million such packages were sent to France alone.

Last month, France said it wanted to start charging non-EU online sellers a handling fee per package by 2028, after which the EU is expected to phase out customs-free status.

The United States earlier this month ended tariff exemptions for goods shipped from China valued under $800, which will face a 54 percent tariff.

Last year, 4.6 billion of these small packages entered the EU (more than 145 per second), 91% of which came from China. The EU expects these numbers to rise.