EU’s €2 handling charge for cheap imports to snare Chinese products

Published on
23/05/2025 – 17:11 GMT+2

A €2 euro-handling fee set to be imposed on every small parcel entering the EU with a value of €150 euros or less announced this week by Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič is set to hit imports on cheap goods from China.

Europe is receiving roughly 12 million small parcels each day, amounting to an estimated 4.6 billion items annually, the majority of which are goods sold by Chinese online platforms like Shein and Temu.  

Following former US President Donald Trump’s announcement of trade tariffs on China, the European Commission expressed concerns that Chinese goods could be redirected towards the EU, potentially flooding the European market. The proposed €2 fee could serve as a deterrent. 

While the timeline of the implementation is still unknown, consumer protection advocates are already concerned that the cost will fall on consumers.  

“These big platforms, their business model is to have very cheap costs, we can anticipate that they will absorb themselves, the costs, and that it might not be passed on to consumers,” Léa Auffret, Head of International Affairs at The European Consumers Organisation (BEUC) said before adding, “But ultimately, this will be a business decision. Consumers should not be the one paying the price for the compliance.” 

Commissioner Šefčovič explained this move in terms of cost efficiency, saying “It’s really just to compensate the work which is being done by the customs officials.”  

Back in February, the European Commission published a “toolbox” in which they announced their intention to introduce more checks for product safety on imports using AI tools, mystery shopping and testing activities to detect and recall products from the market. 

Chinese e-commerce giants are already under various Commission probes under the Digital Services Act – the landmark rules for social media and online retail platforms – and Europe’s consumer protection network is also investigating Temu for alleged illegal practices like fake discounts and misleading reviews, sale of illegal products, and unfair practices. Last February the Commission also requested information of Shein on risks linked to illegal content and goods on its marketplace, the transparency of its recommender systems, access to data for qualified researchers and measures adopted to mitigate risks relating to consumer protection, public health and users’ wellbeing.