From July next year, the European Union (EU) has decided to charge a fee of 3 euros each for low-cost packages under 150 euros.
EU finance ministers announced the agreement at a meeting in Brussels on the 12th. The EU announced that tariffs will be imposed permanently regardless of the value of parcels starting in 2028.
The decision is interpreted as targeting Chinese e-commerce platforms such as Xu Yin, Temu, and Alibaba, which quickly target the European market with ultra-low-priced products.
In a press release distributed on the same day, the EU emphasized, “This temporary measure is aimed at responding to the reality that such parcels enter the EU without tariffs, creating unfair competition for regional sellers, health and safety risks for consumers, and raising the possibility of fraud and environmental concerns.”
“We want a fairer competitive environment,” said Denmark’s Finance Minister Stephanie Rose, who chairs the EU circuit, explaining the purpose of the agreement.
According to the European Commission, a total of 4.6 billion low-cost parcels were poured into Europe last year alone, 91% of which came from China. According to the dpa news agency, the number of low-cost parcels to Europe has recently doubled every year.
The EU will also crack down on the practice of intentionally reporting the value of imported goods low to avoid fraud and tariffs through the new regulations, he added.
The EU also pointed out that false customs declarations have a detrimental effect on EU companies that have difficulty competing with low-cost imports, and that tariff exemptions on small packages encourage importers to deliberately divide large orders into small packages when shipping to the EU, resulting in unnecessary packaging waste.
JENNIFER KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
