EU could target ultra low-cost e-tailers like Shein and Temu with package handling fee or import tax

The European Union is drowning under cheap packages coming from Asian online retailers, starting with ultra low-cost e-tailers AliExpress, Shein and Temu. The Financial Times has learned that the EU is considering a crackdown on such imported goods due to safety and counterfeiting concerns.

The issue is there are currently no custom duties on goods that are worth less than €150. But the EU isn’t scrapping this threshold, as it’s physically impossible to check all packages. Every second, 40 packages arrive in the Netherlands via air or sea freight.

Instead, the European Commission is considering a per-package administrative handling fee. Or maybe a tax on e-commerce platforms’ revenue. Both options would likely lead to lengthy negotiations between the Commission, the World Trade Organization, and the bloc’s 27 Member States.

Taking this sort of approach could be one way for the bloc to try to enforce its safety standards on ultra cheap goods that are made and shipped directly from China — by making it more expensive for importers to pile ’em high and sell ’em cheap.