Shein, Temu, AliExpress and other similar companies will have to pay customs duties on their shipments to the European Union.
The finance ministers of the EU member states have agreed to impose this customs tax. Until now, shipments of cheap goods have been imported free of charge.
The aim is to start paying customs duties as early as next year. This is in response to the large number of shipments of cheap goods, mainly from China.
Dutch Finance Minister Eelco Heinen declared that the time had come to bring these remittances under control, reports reuters.
Currently, no customs duty is paid in the EU for shipments from countries outside the Union (third countries) worth up to 150 euros. The new customs duty will be in the form of a fixed fee of two euros for each shipment.
Authorities say the measure is aimed at ensuring a level playing field for all sellers. It says shipments of cheap goods from China have particularly hurt small and medium-sized companies in the EU, and have also increased the amount of packaging waste.
Initially, the European Union had planned for these tariffs to start applying from 2028, but this has been changed due to growing dissatisfaction in member states.
According to European Commission data, around 12 million parcels arrived in the EU every day last year — far more than in the previous two years. The two most popular online sales platforms are the Chinese ones Temu and Shein. /Telegraph/
