European Commission targets cheap imports from China with new law

Fans of shopping on AliExpress, Shein, or Temu should place their orders quickly. The European Commission is working on a law that will impose customs duties on every order from China. When will the new regulation come into effect?

Although activists and environmentalists worldwide regularly organise protests against Shein, AliExpress, and Temu, millions of people continue to shop at these cheap Chinese stores, which are characterised mainly by poor product quality and long waiting times for merchandise. The European Commission dislikes importing Chinese products and has been announcing its intention to combat these cheap giants for some time now.

Under current law, customs duties on products imported outside the European Union apply to orders over 150 euros (£130). However, the European Commission wants to change the regulations to remove the lower limit for imposing customs duties. The regulation mainly aims to secure orders from China, including Temu, AliExpress, and Shein. The European Commission indicates that in 2023, 2.3 billion items below the duty-free threshold of 150 euros (£130) entered the EU.

An anonymous official from the European Commission said in an interview with the "Financial Times": "The commission already proposed scrapping the duty threshold last year, but it could now seek to speed up its adoption to counter the surge of cheap imports".

The planned changes do not concern only products imported from Asia. The European Commission plans to remove the minimum customs duty threshold for all orders outside the European Union, including from the United Kingdom, America, or Africa. One threatened giant is Amazon, which often uses European firms to ship orders placed within the European Union.

How much could the new customs duty amount to? Currently, it usually ranges from 3 percent to 8 percent of the value of the ordered items. However, the European Commission might establish a new fee rate along with the new regulation.