EU decides to impose €3 tax on small parcels to tackle Chinese imports

A customs agent controls packages from China at Bierset airport in Liege, Belgium, September 15, 2025. All small parcels imported into the European Union will be subject to a €3 euro tax from July 2026, according to a decision taken by EU finance ministers on December 12, 2025. JOHN THYS / AFP

EU finance ministers agreed Friday, December 12, to impose a €3 duty on all small parcels imported into the bloc starting July 1, 2026, to help tackle a flood of cheap imports by the likes of Shein and Temu. The move comes a month after the bloc agreed to scrap a duty exemption for packages worth less than €150 ($174) imported directly to consumers in the 27-nation bloc, in many cases via Chinese-founded platforms.

The fixed fee will be introduced on a temporary basis and will stay in place until the bloc can settle on a permanent solution for taxing such imports, an EU spokesperson said. Last year, 4.6 billion such small packages entered the European Union, the equivalent of more than 145 per second. Some 91% originated in China. The EU expects those numbers to rise.

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EU wants to tax parcels from China starting in 2026