Temu, AliExpress or Shein will be the most affected

The European Union (EU) approved this Thursday remove customs duty exemption that apply to the shipments worth less than 150 euros from third countries. This measure seeks to stop the avalanche of small packages that arrive, especially from China, through online businesses such as Temu, Shein or AliExpess by making them pay tariffs regardless of their cost.

Although the measure will come into full force in 2028, the agreement approved by the Ministers of Economy and Finance plans to work on a transitional mechanism that allows start collecting customs duties already at the beginning of 2026 since they consider the problem too urgent to wait two years to act.

According to current regulations (until the newly approved one comes into force), the packages purchased on-line from a non-EU country are tax-free as long as they remain below the 150 euro threshold. “The elimination of said threshold means that customs duties will have to be paid from the first euro on all goods that enter the EU“said the Minister of Finance of Denmark, Stephanie Lose, whose country presides over the Council of the EU this semester.

The goal of ending the exemption, which dates back to 1983, is stop fraudulent practicessuch as breaking up shipments into smaller packages to avoid paying customs duties, and ensure fairer competition for European manufacturers compared to low-cost products that often do not comply with European regulations.

91% of ‘low cost’ shipments come from China

The shipments worth less than 150 euros towards the EU have more than tripled in two years, going from 1.2 billion euros in 2022 to 4.6 billion euros in 2024, and of these, 91% come from China, according to data from the European Commission. The Community Executive links this increase to the “exponential growth” of Chinese online businesses such as Temu or Shein, which have gained millions of consumers in the EU thanks to “pervasive online advertising, low prices and ultra-fast shipping.”

The massive arrival of packages aimed directly at the consumer makes it difficult for customs authorities to control the millions of daily shipments, increasing the risk of counterfeit products entering. or that fail to comply with European safety standards, to which is added the impact on the environment linked to their transport.

At the same time, it distorts competition favoring online businesses from outside the EU compared to European manufacturerswho are required to comply with community regulations and pay customs duties when they import in large quantities. Intellectual property infringements by third parties, for example, cause losses equivalent to 5% of their annual turnover to the European textile and cosmetics industries, which rise to almost 9% in the toy industry, according to the Commission.

“This change will create a greater equality of conditions between European companies that pay duties on all their exports and companies from outside the EU that directly sell low-value goods without paying for them,” said the Danish minister. In addition, she stressed that the reform seeks in particular to stop the “massive arrival” of this type of packages from Asia.

The agreement guarantees “fair competition”

For her part, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, welcomed the approval of the Member States and said that it was a “fundamental step to better manage the increase in small packages, especially from China.”

The president has indicated that the agreement guarantees “fair competition, a stricter application of the regulations and a greater consumer protection throughout the EU”. On the other hand, Brussels has proposed in a separate initiative to introduce a fee of two euros for the management of each package that arrives at EU customs, which could also come into force in 2026.