The move spearheaded by the European Commission in response to the increasing number of small consignments arriving directly from extra-EU countries to consumers, is destined to discourage, at least in part, use of the large e-commerce sites. The measure, while currently temporary until a final plan is made about the influx of small packages, risks making ordering from outside the EU more difficult, and crucially, more costly.
An unacceptable status quo
Under the current rules, consignments worth less than €150 arriving from outside the EU are exempt from any Union-wide customs charge. The arrangement has helped fuel the rapid growth of platforms such as Temu, Shein and AliExpress, which offer low-cost products delivered directly to European consumers. According to research by YouCabe, the presence of these sites increased by 415 per cent in France, 203 per cent in Spain and 133 per cent in Italy between 2024 and 2025.
European officials have repeatedly expressed concerns about product safety and the unfair competition of products imported from other parts of the world where the same workers’ rights and quality controls are not enforced. Many traditional retailers have argued that European companies face stricter regulatory standards and higher labour costs, while imports from platforms such as Temu and Shein can undercut domestic businesses with little supervision on the compliance of their products. Customs authorities have also reported increasing numbers of counterfeit and non-compliant goods entering the bloc through small consignments.
Increased customs management costs
The principal purpose of the new charge is to help finance the additional customs capacity required to process the ever-growing number of parcels entering the bloc. EU Commissioner Michael McGrath has estimated that 5.8 billion small consumer parcels enter the EU every year, placing enormous pressure on customs authorities and major cargo hubs.
The funds collected through charging this fee should also allow customs facilities to be developed, allowing, in the long term, customs clearance procedures to occur more quickly given larger capacity.
Impact on consumers
The impact of this regulation change could be significant. Every parcel arriving from outside the EU will effectively cost €3 more than it currently does. This surcharge is proportionally very large for smaller, cheaper items. While some platforms may seek to absorb at least a part of the charge in order to remain competitive in Europe, EU based retailers could benefit if the price gap narrows between imported and EU produced products narrows.
Critics argue that the charge will fall disproportionately on consumers who rely on low-cost imports. A €3 fee represents only a small increase on a €100 purchase but raises the price of a €5 item by 60 per cent. Consumers may respond by placing fewer but larger orders, while some companies could absorb part of the surcharge in order to maintain their competitiveness.
More widely, this measure could disproportionately affect lower-income households, many of which rely on low-cost online retailers for everyday items of little value. While the fee may appear modest, it represents a substantial increase on purchases that otherwise would be inexpensive..
Wider reforms not far away
The €3 surcharge which will be applied from the 1st of July, is widely viewed as an interim measure rather than a permanent solution. Brussels is also considering deeper reforms of the customs system and the abolition of the current €150 threshold, amid concerns over unfair competition, counterfeit products and the environmental impact of billions of small consignments entering Europe each year. While the charge is aimed primarily at Chinese e-commerce giants, its ultimate success will depend on whether it can reduce pressure on customs authorities without imposing excessive costs on European consumers.
More fundamentally, the €3 fee is a reflection of growing concern in Brussels over the ability of existing customs rules to cope with the rise of ultra-fast fashion and low-cost online retail. With billions of parcels arriving in Europe every year, policymakers increasingly view the current system as unsustainable. The surcharge may therefore represent only the first step towards a much broader overhaul of the EU’s customs regime, which seems outdated for the international connectivity that has flourished.
