EU to impose US$2.25 fee on cheap parcels, mostly from China

The EU said on Tuesday that it was preparing to impose a €2 (US$2.25) flat fee on the billions of low-value packages that flood into the bloc each year, the great majority from China.

Trade chief Maros Sefcovic 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 (US$168.75) 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, Sefcovic said.

Last year, 4.6 billion such small packages entered the EU – more than 145 per second – with 91 per cent 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.