BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Brussels wants to accelerate the imposition of customs duties on low-value parcels entering the European Union in a bid to crack down on cheap Chinese imports that arrive in the billions each year, Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic has said.
In 2023, the European Commission proposed removing the “de minimis” exemption from duties for goods below 150 euros ($175), but only from mid-2028.
In a letter to EU finance ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday, Sefcovic proposed that the “de minimis” threshold be removed in the first quarter of 2026, two years earlier than planned.
MOVE TO HIT SHEIN, TEMU
The move, which would hit online platforms such as Shein and Temu, would signal the bloc was serious about shielding the competitiveness of businesses in the 27-nation bloc, Sefcovic wrote.
Shein declined to comment, while Temu did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Shein is already facing legal proceedings in France over the sale of child-like sex dolls on its platform.
The number of low-value packages arriving in the bloc doubled last year to 4.6 billion, most of them from China, and the Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, is facing pressure from EU companies to stem that flow more quickly.
The United States has already scrapped its own “de minimis” policy that allowed duty-free entry to parcels worth less than $800, leading to concerns that cheap Chinese imports would divert more to Europe.
There is also added urgency as individual EU countries appear set to introduce national handling fees.
Romania has proposed a 25 lei ($5.73) fee on low-value packages, while Italy is working on a tax by the end of the year to protect its fashion industry, its industry minister said on Wednesday.
RETAILERS WARN AGAINST ASSORTMENT OF NATIONAL FEES
European retailers and wholesalers’ lobby group EuroCommerce has warned that an assortment of different national fees risks undermining the EU single market. The Commission has proposed a 2 euro fee, but it is not clear when it would be imposed.
Sefcovic said the current timeline of abolishing the de minimis threshold in mid-2028 was “incompatible with the urgency of the situation”.
“If we act with the required political determination and pragmatism a workable solution could be put in place for Q1, 2026,” he said.
EU finance ministers are expected to agree a common position on Thursday, setting up negotiations with the European Parliament, which will also need to back new legislation.
Ahead of Thursday’s meeting, Dutch Finance Minister Eelco Heinen told reporters it was time to “get a grip” on cheap Chinese parcels flooding the European market.
($1 = 0.8575 euros; 4.3595 lei)
(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski, Inti Landaurno in Brussels, Helen Reid in London, writing by Philip Blenkinsop, Editing by Richard Lough, Alexandra Hudson, Conor Humphries)
