The flood of untaxed and infrequently unsafe items prompted the European Fee to suggest a brief resolution for the packages beneath €150 a month in the past. This “de minimis” rule permits exporters like Shein and Temu to ship merchandise on to shoppers, typically bypassing scrutiny.
The EU has already acquired extra packages within the first 9 months of 2025 than in all the earlier yr, when the counter hit 4.6 billion.
French Finance Minister Roland Lescure referred to as it “a literal invasion of parcels in Europe final yr,” which might have hit “7, 8, 9 billion within the coming years if nothing was carried out.”
An EU official informed POLITICO earlier this month that at some airports, as much as 80 p.c of such packages arriving don’t adjust to EU security guidelines. This creates an enormous workload for customs officers, a rising pile of rubbish, and well being dangers from unsafe toys and kitchen gadgets.
EU international locations have already agreed to formally abolish the de-minimis loophole, however taxing all gadgets primarily based on their precise worth and product sort would require extra knowledge alternate. That may solely be potential as soon as an formidable reform of the bloc’s Customs Union, at the moment beneath negotiation, is accomplished by 2028. The €3 flat tax is the momentary resolution to cowl the interval till then.
The rising recognition of internet outlets like Shein and Temu, which each function out of China is fueling this flood. France suspended entry to Shein’s on-line platform this month.
This €3 EU-wide tax will likely be distinct from the so-called dealing with price that France has proposed as part of its nationwide funds to alleviate the prices on customs for coping with the identical flood of packages.
Klara Durand and Camille Gijs contributed to this report.
