The European Union began charging a flat €3 customs duty on parcels worth up to €150 entering the bloc from outside the EU on Wednesday, ending a decades-old exemption that let millions of low-value packages, mostly from China, bypass customs duties entirely, according to the European Commission.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the change addresses an “unfair disadvantage” facing EU retailers, who employ 30 million people across the bloc’s largest private-sector industry. She also cited safety concerns, noting many low-value imports fail to meet EU product standards.
About 90% of the parcels affected originate in China, and officials singled out Temu and Shein as the platforms most responsible for the surge. Nearly 5.9 billion low-value parcels entered the EU in 2025 alone, roughly double the volume from two years earlier.
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Under the new rules, the €3 duty applies per item by tariff classification rather than per parcel, so a shipment containing several different product categories can trigger multiple charges. The measure is a temporary bridge, set to run until 2028, when a centralized EU Customs Data Hub is expected to replace it with standard tariffs based on individual product classification.
Read: Trump Closes De Minimis Loophole for All Countries, Ending Duty-Free Shipping
The move follows a similar crackdown in the United States. The Trump administration ended de minimis treatment for China and Hong Kong in May last year, then extended the suspension to all countries in August, subjecting low-value shipments worldwide to duties for the first time.
Washington’s order leaned heavily on national security grounds, citing the exemption’s use in smuggling fentanyl and counterfeit goods, alongside the trade-fairness argument Brussels has emphasized.
The EU has also proposed a separate handling fee on low-value parcels to help cover customs processing costs, though the amount and start date remain under negotiation, with a decision expected in autumn 2026.
