The End of the Free Shopping Era: Europe Targets Shein and Temu with New Taxes

The European Commission plans to abolish its duty-free policy for small parcels, and Chinese e-commerce platforms like Shein and Temu have become a prime target.

According to a BBC report, the European Commission has proposed abolishing the duty-free policy for small parcels under €150 delivered directly to consumers. The proposal requires approval from EU member governments and the European Parliament.

Last year, the EU imported 4.6 billion small parcels, and European customs offices processed an average of 12 million small parcels per day. 91% of these shipments came from China via e-commerce platforms like Shein and Temu.

Currently, the European Commission has proposed imposing a duty of €2 per small parcel delivered directly to consumers. Bernd Lange, Chairman of the European Parliament's International Trade Committee, commented on this matter, saying: "Effective control of 4.6 billion parcels is not possible. Moreover, the practical implementation of such a policy would require a lot of money. Therefore, demanding that Alibaba, Temu, or Shein pay the costs they must bear would be fair."

Currently, many countries are criticizing Chinese e-commerce platforms like Temu and Shein for selling cheap products in bulk on their marketplaces. In the months-long US-China trade war, the Trump administration imposed high tariffs on China, in addition to doubling taxes on goods from China that are less than $800 in value and are shipped directly to consumers. Following talks in Switzerland, this tax was reduced from 120% to 54%, but it was announced that the fixed fee of $100 per parcel will remain in place.

According to Bloomberg data, the United States is the largest market for small parcels, with China's revenue from such exports reaching $94 billion last year, roughly a quarter of China's total exports.