It is already clear to everyone that the Union is only thinking about regulations and laws, so it is no surprise that after tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, the EU is looking for new victims of its customs policy. They have found them in Chinese online retailers such as popular Temu and Shein. Now in Brussels, they are brainstorming and devising plans to impose tariffs on cheap goods purchased from Chinese online retailers in an effort to stop the rise of goods that the EU claims are ‘non-standard goods’ coming from China.
The European Commission will propose the abolition of the current threshold of 150 euros below which items can be purchased duty-free later this month, three people familiar with the matter told the Financial Times. The main targeted platforms were the Chinese online marketplaces Temu and AliExpress, as well as the clothing retailer Shein, one official said.
Last year, according to the Commission, 2.3 billion items were imported into the EU below the duty-free threshold of 150 euros. E-commerce imports more than doubled year-on-year, exceeding 350,000 items in April — or recalculated, nearly two deliveries per household, according to Commission data.
China benefits from subsidized shipping costs, making it profitable to send cheap goods by air, which does not suit more expensive manufacturers in the Union.
The announced provisions would apply to all online retailers delivering to EU customers directly from outside the bloc. US-based Amazon typically uses sellers based in Europe, the Commission noted.
Mandatory registration
Another possible measure would be mandatory registration of large platforms for VAT payment online, regardless of their value. Since 2021, packages sent to companies from the EU already pay VAT regardless of their value, but are exempt from customs duties.
The Commission had already proposed the abolition of the customs threshold last year, but it could now accelerate its adoption to curb the wave of cheap imports, one EU official said.
However, another official warned that forcing EU countries to agree could be difficult, given that the new regime would increase the burden on already overburdened customs officials.
The number of dangerous products reported by EU countries jumped by more than 50 percent from 2022 to 2023 to over 3,400. Cosmetics, toys, electrical devices, and clothing were among the products with the most safety issues, the Commission stated.
The toy industry in the EU has accused Chinese retailers of delivering dangerous toys to Europe. Toy Industries of Europe, an industry group, said in February that it purchased 19 toys from Temu and found that none complied with EU standards, while 18 posed a real safety risk to children.
Temu subsequently removed all products from its website in Europe and added that ‘product safety is of utmost importance’.
Christel Delberghe, the CEO of EuroCommerce, a retail lobbying group, said they want ‘the same conditions at the EU level in online retail for all, regardless of where they are based’. She also added that ‘existing legislation is sufficient but an effective cross-border enforcement strategy is also needed’.
