3 euros per package: The EU has imposed an additional duty on goods from China
1 July 12:41
The European Union has imposed an additional levy of 3 euros on low-value e-commerce imports from China, which were previously imported into the bloc duty-free.
Reuters reports this, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
The agency calls this the first step toward curbing unfair competition from Chinese marketplaces, particularly Shein, Temu, and AliExpress.
“Previously, these platforms used customs exemptions to sell goods at extremely low prices, which contributed to their rapid growth and sparked complaints from retailers and politicians,” the publication states.
The fees will be charged for each customs classification within a single shipment.
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A shipment containing three different types of goods will be subject to a total fee of 9 euros, while a shipment containing several dresses or toys will be subject to a fee of 3 euros.
The duty-free exemption for low-value imports has been in place for decades, and the current threshold of 150 euros was introduced in 2008.
However, the number of e-commerce packages entering the EU under this exemption has risen sharply from 1.4 billion in 2022 to 5.8 billion in 2025.
Experts expect a 10–35% decline in air freight volumes of e-commerce goods to the EU during the first weeks after the duties take effect.
“The question is how effectively platforms will be able to pivot to other markets. When the U.S. abolished the de minimis regime, Europe was a really good alternative that platforms could pivot to—but now there isn’t really a clear alternative to Europe,” Derek Lossing, an e-commerce and air transport consultant and head of Cirrus Global Advisors, told the agency.
He added that Chinese platforms may pressure suppliers to absorb some of the additional costs in order to limit price increases for consumers and protect their profitability.
Shein has been preparing for these changes by expanding its warehouse space in Poland and shipping more goods to the EU in bulk.
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