EU introduces €3 tax on parcels from Shein, Temu

The EU has agreed to impose a €3 duty on low-value parcels entering the European Union from July 2026, marking a significant shift in how the bloc handles the surge of cheap imports from Chinese-founded platforms such as Shein and Temu.

The move comes as the EU grapples with an unprecedented flood of small retail packages. Last year, 4.6 billion parcels entered the European Union, more than 145 per second, with 91% originating in China.

In the first nine months of 2025 alone, the bloc received more packages than in all of 2024.

The new fee will apply once per item type in packages containing different products, but only once if they contain multiples of the same item. The measure will end the long-standing duty-free status for packages worth less than €150.

The charge will be introduced temporarily starting 1 July 2026, staying in place until the bloc can settle on a permanent solution for taxing such imports, expected by 2028 as part of a broader Customs Union reform.

Some countries have already moved forward with their own measures. Romania has imposed a €5 fee on small parcels, fed up with waiting for EU-wide action. France, which received around 800 million small parcels last year, has made the matter a priority and recently suspended access to Shein's online platform.

The European Council said the temporary measure responds to the fact that such parcels currently enter the EU duty-free, "leading to unfair competition for EU sellers, health and safety risks for consumers, high levels of fraud and environmental concerns.”