02.08.2024
EU consumers are increasingly ordering products worth under 150 euros through Chinese webshops such as AliExpress, Temu and Shein. Last year alone, the total was around 2.3 billion items. These cheap goods are currently subject to a customs exemption, meaning that no import duties are due when entering the EU. The European commission is now planning to remove this exemption. This means that consumers will pay more for products coming from outside the EU. With this, Europe hopes to counter the huge influx of packages from outside the EU.
One reason for dropping the exemption is decreasing the competition with European companies. Items ordered via Chinese webshops are much cheaper than compared to does ordered within Europe. The Chinese webshops can charge these low prices because, among other things, they receive a subsidy on postal traffic. This makes it cheaper to export goods from China to Europe. Another reason for dropping the exemption is preventing junk or dangerous products from entering the EU that are harmful to the environment and people. For example, in a recent inspection of 19 toys from Temu they found that none met the European quality standards and 18 were even dangerous for children.
It is expected that soon there will be a proposal from the European Commission to remove the exemption. This proposal will then first have to be approved by all member states. It remains to be seen whether the member states will simply agree to this, because the various customs authorities are currently already overloaded with work. The dropping of the exemption will only increase this workload. Should the proposal pass, import duties will range between 0% and 17%.
