The European Union is preparing to implement a €2 flat fee on billions of low-value packages entering the bloc each year, primarily from China, EU Trade Chief Maros Sefcovic announced yesterday.
The proposed levy would remove the customs-free status currently enjoyed by packages valued under €150 that are shipped directly to consumers, often through platforms like Chinese-founded Temu and Shein. Parcels sent to EU warehouses would face a reduced fee of 50 cents.
Last year, 4.6 billion such small packages entered the EU – more than 145 per second – with 91% originating from China. Brussels has expressed concerns that many of these products fail to meet European safety standards and may be counterfeit or potentially dangerous.
“This represents a completely new challenge to control, safety, and ensuring that products shipped to the European Union meet proper standards,” Sefcovic told the European Parliament. European retailers have long complained about unfair competition from overseas platforms that allegedly bypass the EU’s stringent product regulations.
The announcement coincides with Ireland launching a public consultation on tackling fast fashion and textile waste. The Irish government’s proposals include measures to extend textile lifespan, improve recyclability, enhance labeling through mandatory EU eco-design laws, and implement the “polluter pays principle” to make the fashion industry responsible for its waste.
Alan Dillon, Minister of State for Small Business, Retail and Circular Economy, highlighted the environmental impact of the textiles industry, noting it has the fourth-highest impact on environment and climate change after food, housing, and transport.
“We are producing, consuming and dumping clothes and textiles in a completely insane manner,” Dillon said on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland. He revealed that 65% of used textiles are not separately collected but end up in landfills or incineration.
Regarding the EU’s proposed €2 fee, Dillon suggested it might help reduce the volume of textiles bought by Irish consumers from outside the EU but questioned whether the amount was sufficient to change consumer behavior. “€2 isn’t a significant amount,” he noted, adding that an economic assessment was needed to establish if the fee would effectively “discourage Irish consumers who continue to buy packages from outside the EU.”
The public consultation on Ireland’s textile waste strategy opens today and will close on July 7, 2025.
Sefcovic defended the EU fee as necessary to “compensate the cost” of the “huge” workload for customs officials rather than viewing it as a tax. Some revenue from the fee is expected to go toward the EU budget.
The move follows similar action in the United States, which earlier this month ended tariff exemptions for goods shipped from China worth less than $800, implementing a 54% levy instead.