France Pushes EU to Target Small Packages from China
On December 12 local time, under the leadership of France, EU member states' finance ministers held a meeting and reached an agreement to impose a temporary fixed fee of 3 euros on all small packages sent directly from non-EU countries to the EU with a value below 150 euros (approximately 1,242 yuan) starting in July 2026. They also plan to implement a permanent tariff two years later to address the so-called "unfair competition" caused by low-cost duty-free packages from Chinese cross-border e-commerce platforms such as Shein and Temu.
Hong Kong English media South China Morning Post reported on the 13th that this initiative pushed by France is a "landmark step" for Europe to respond to the impact of duty-free small packages from China. However, the actual effectiveness of these fees remains to be seen, considering that Chinese e-commerce companies have extensive warehousing and logistics networks in Europe.
According to Bloomberg, the permanent tariff on small packages will not take effect until 2028, that is, after the new EU customs data center is built. However, France has pushed for the introduction of this temporary fee mechanism before the permanent system is implemented.
After the finance ministers reached the decision, Roland Lescure, the main proponent, smiled at the journalists and said: "Today is an important day for Europe and for France, and even more significant for our people, producers, and retailers."
Lescure said that for these low-cost small packages, the 3-euro fee is a "relatively high cost." He also emphasized that France had spent the entire previous day trying to persuade many EU partners to support this measure, and Paris believes it is the right direction for development.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1851376726766595/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.