The European Union on Wednesday took a first step toward what it aims to be curbing unfair competition from foreign online retailers such as Shein, Temu and AliExpress by imposing a 3 euro fee ($3.40) on low-value e-commerce imports from China that previously entered the bloc duty-free.
The move is another setback for platforms that used customs exemptions to sell goods at ultra-low prices, fuelling rapid growth and prompting complaints from retailers and policymakers.
The U.S., their biggest market, ended its "de minimis" exemption for imports from China in May and for all imports at the end of August.
The fees, which take effect on Wednesday, will be charged for each customs classification in a shipment. A parcel containing three different types of items would incur a total charge of 9 euros, while a parcel containing multiple dresses or multiple toys would be charged 3 euros.
Duty exemptions on low-value imports have been in place for decades, with the current threshold of 150 euros introduced in 2008. But the number of e-commerce parcels entering the European Union under the exemption has surged, reaching 5.8 billion in 2025 from 1.4 billion in 2022.
