The European Union (EU) plans to levy a flat fee of €2 on billions of small packages entering the bloc, mainly from China, in a fresh blow to online retailers such as Temu and Shein.
Trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič told the European Parliament he had proposed a handling fee on Tuesday to deal with the challenges of the 4.6 billion items annually imported directly to people’s homes.
The European Commission draft proposal, says the €2 fee will apply to direct sales but that items sent to warehouses will be taxed at €0.50.
Some of the resulting revenues would cover the cost of extra customs checks, while the remaining money will be directed to the EU budget.
Mr Šefčovič has promised to tackle the surge in packages, which he said had led to an increase in dangerous and non-compliant goods and complaints by EU retailers of unfair competition. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
