【Authored by Guan察者网, Liu Bai】

On December 12th local time, under the leadership of France, EU member state finance ministers held a meeting and reached an agreement to impose a temporary fixed fee of 3 euros on all small packages directly sent to the EU from non-EU countries with a value below 150 euros (approximately 1,242 RMB) starting July 2026, and plan to implement a permanent tariff two years later to address the so-called "unfair competition" caused by low-cost package imports from Chinese cross-border e-commerce platforms such as Shein and Temu.

The 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 Chinese duty-free small packages. However, the actual effectiveness of these fees remains to be seen, as 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. But France has pushed for the introduction of this temporary fee mechanism before the permanent system is implemented.

After the finance ministers reached the resolution, Roland Lescure, the French Minister of Finance and the main proponent of the initiative, smiled at the reporters 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 "relatively high." He also emphasized that France had spent the entire previous day trying to convince many EU partners to support this measure, and Paris believes it is the right direction.

EU member states' transit warehouses, European Parliament website

According to a statement released by the European Commission on the 12th, this fee applies to all small packages sent directly to European consumers from non-EU countries, but the statement did not mention whether the fee applies to packages sent from non-EU countries to EU warehouses.

In addition, this fee is a separate matter from the current ongoing negotiations about the small package handling fee, which is expected to take effect in November 2026. The impact of the new rules remains uncertain, especially when some packages are routed through European warehouses, facing lower fees. For example, the proposed 2-euro handling fee would cost only 0.5 euros per item if the package is first sent to a European warehouse.

Shein and Temu both have multiple distribution centers in continental Europe. Temu has signed logistics cooperation agreements with postal service providers in Austria, Italy, Belgium, Portugal, and France over the past three months.

This Chinese cross-border e-commerce giant previously announced its goal to eventually ship 80% of European orders from local warehouses.

The EU's small package fees may also affect the American retail giant Amazon. Amazon recently launched the Amazon Haul service in France to compete with Temu. This service was previously operating in Germany, shipping goods from Amazon's warehouses in China, selling low-priced items - mostly below 10 euros.

The EU first announced in May its plan to cancel the policy of duty-free for small packages valued below 150 euros, which is expected to take effect in mid-2028. This move is believed to mainly target China.

Chinese customs data shows that in 2024, small packages became the highest category of exports from China to France, accounting for 7% of China's total exports to France.

Data from the EU Statistical Office shows that in 2024, China was the largest source of imports for the EU (accounting for 21.3% of the EU's external imports), and the third-largest export market (accounting for 8.3% of the EU's external exports). According to data from the European Commission, 91% of e-commerce packages valued below 150 euros in 2024 came from China, and the number is expected to continue to grow.

Last month, the EU again called for the rapid cancellation of this tax exemption policy, planning to take effect in early 2026, two years earlier than originally planned.

Maros Sefcovic, the European Commissioner for trade and economic security, wrote to the finance ministers urging them to agree to accelerate the cancellation of the small package tax exemption policy.

In his letter, he stated, "This is a key step to enhance the EU's position in the rapidly changing trade reality." He added that this move "will send a strong signal that Europe takes seriously the enhancement of competitiveness and ensures fair conditions for its businesses."

German Finance Minister Lars Nagel made a controversial statement at the finance ministers' meeting, declaring, "We don't want Chinese garbage." He also said, "We want to protect our own market, and I want to do this as soon as possible."

In recent years, Chinese e-commerce apps like Temu and Shein have developed rapidly around the world. According to research company Sensor Tower, in 2024, Temu became the most downloaded mobile e-commerce application globally, with downloads reaching 550 million times, followed by Shein.

Previously, some foreign media believed that the business model of Chinese e-commerce benefits from the "minimum exemption," meaning that parcels below a certain quantity or value are exempted from tariffs in the destination country. However, apart from Chinese e-commerce, US-based retailers like Amazon and Walmart also use this mechanism to import goods.

As Temu and Shein develop rapidly, these two e-commerce platforms have become thorns in the eyes of Western governments. The US government was the first to act, ending the tax exemption policy for small packages (valued below $800) in August. However, many Chinese merchants say they expect costs to increase for sales to the US, but they have already established warehouses in the US in advance to buffer the impact.

At the same time, countries like Japan are planning to follow the US's lead in targeting small packages.

At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regular press conference on November 14, in response to the EU member states' decision to cancel the tax exemption policy for small packages, spokesperson Lin Jian emphasized that we hope the EU side will adhere to the principles of a market economy and provide a fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory business environment for enterprises from all countries, including Chinese ones.

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Original: toutiao.com/article/7583143284529168932/

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