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New duties of €3 on small items from Shein, Temu and AliExpress have come into force in the EU

New duties of €3 on small items from Shein, Temu and AliExpress have come into force in the EU

01 July 2026, 17:00

New duties of €3 on small items from Shein, Temu and AliExpress have come into force in the EU — Shein, AliExpress, Temu

From today, 1 July, a new €3 duty on low-cost parcels comes into force in the EU — this is the European Union’s way of tackling unfair competition from major online retailers such as Shein, Temu and AliExpress.

This is reported by Reuters and Euronews.

Since 2008, parcels worth up to €150 have entered the EU without incurring any tax. However, in recent years, the number of parcels from online shops entering the European Union under this exemption has risen sharply: from 1.4 billion in 2022 to 5.8 billion in 2025.

Brussels believes that a significant proportion of these parcels contain incorrect value declarations or unclear information regarding the safety of the goods. By sending millions of individual orders directly from China, the platforms have completely avoided import duties — a loophole which, according to regulators, gave them an unfair advantage over European sellers.

The EU is therefore introducing a new duty of €3 for each product category. It will work as follows: a parcel containing three different types of goods will be subject to a total charge of €9, whilst a parcel containing several dresses or several toys will be charged €3.

This levy is temporary — from 1 July 2028, the plan is to replace it with permanent category-based duties.

Platforms will also be designated as ‘importer by default’, making them legally responsible for the safety of goods and subject to fines if products do not meet EU standards.

Experts believe that air freight of e-commerce goods to the EU will fall by 10–35 per cent within a few weeks of the charges coming into force.

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