By Helen Reid
LONDON (Reuters) – The European Union will increase customs checks on goods shipped directly by ecommerce retailers like Temu and Shein to EU consumers as it seeks to ensure fair competition and product safety, according to a draft of an official communication seen by Reuters on Monday.
The directive from the European Commission, expected to be published on Wednesday, will affect all non-EU ecommerce retailers although it specifically addresses the rapid growth of Temu, an online marketplace owned by Chinese ecommerce giant PDD Holdings, and Shein, a fast-fashion retailer founded in China but now headquartered in Singapore.
Both retailers have undercut local players with ultra-low prices for products made in China, and benefited from an EU law giving parcels worth less than 150 euros ($153.71) duty-free status, a measure critics say gives them an unfair advantage. Clothing, for example, is usually subject to a 12% import duty to enter the EU.
The European Union-wide customs operation will prioritise controls on products bought online that present “significant safety hazards and risks of non-compliance”, the European Commission said, calling on all member states to participate. The precise list of products will be determined in agreement with member states.
According to the Commission, 91% of all ecommerce shipments into the EU valued under 150 euros last year came from China. In total 4.6 billion low-value shipments arrived in the EU last year, more than double the number in 2023.
“The surge of these imports shipped directly to consumers raises significant challenges that require urgent attention, in particular where imported products may be dangerous, counterfeit or otherwise do not comply with EU law,” the Commission said in the draft document.
Customs handling capacity at the EU border has also not increased sufficiently to manage this surge in parcels, the Commission said, calling for “urgent” adoption of its customs reform package which would scrap the 150-euro duty-free limit and create an EU Customs Authority to reinforce border capacity.
The Commission said it would work with legislators to frontload to 2026 parts of its planned customs reform, in particular the EU Customs Authority and the preparations for a Data Hub for e-commerce, ahead of the planned 2028 start date.
The equivalent “de minimis” rule in the U.S., which allows duty-free access for parcels under $800 in value, was scrapped for products coming from China, Mexico and Canada, as part of President Donald Trump’s package of tariffs targeting those countries announced on Saturday.
Contents of the draft European Commission document were first reported by the Financial Times.
($1 = 0.9759 euros)
(Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Susan Fenton)
