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.
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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
