European Commission to Impose €3 Fee on Cheap Foreign Parcels

The European Commission is introducing a €3 customs fee on cheap parcels from abroad in an effort to stop the “desertification” of shopping streets in European cities and the flow of low-cost imports from China.

Previously, goods worth up to €150—fast-fashion clothing, cosmetics, toys—entered duty-free under the de minimis rule. From Wednesday, parcels below that threshold will be subject to the new fee. According to the EU, the number of low-cost shipments rose from 1.3 billion in 2022 to 5.9 billion in 2025, with about 90% of them coming from China. Competition from Shein and Temu has hit European retailers hard.

Online commerce has “contributed to the decline of traditional retail and the desertification of cities, affecting local jobs and community life,” a senior EU official said. EU Commissioner for Justice Michael McGrath said he was “shocked” by the risks posed by some goods entering the bloc through de minimis.

An EU study found that 60% of online goods from outside the bloc do not comply with European legislation. In the cosmetics and toy categories, 65% of goods failed to meet standards; among food supplements, the figure was 63%; and among professional personal protective equipment, 60%. Last month, EU regulators fined Temu €200 million for failing to prevent the sale of dangerous goods.

Brussels hopes the fee will make some shoppers think twice, while abolishing the threshold will act as a deterrent for foreign retailers, which will have to file customs declarations for all shipments. The main goal is to restore more equal conditions for European small businesses.

Shein is already reshaping its business model: it has opened pop-up stores in Hungary, tried to launch a permanent store in Paris but closed it after a public backlash, and in December opened a distribution center in Poland, which could allow it to bypass the new fee. In the United Kingdom, the Treasury said last week that it would begin charging duties on parcels worth less than £135 from October 2028.