EU adds €3 customs charge for imports under €150
From this week, the EU is adding a €3 customs charge to all parcels under €150 coming from outside Europe.
This ends the old rule that let small packages skip extra fees, and it's mostly aimed at curbing the flood of budget buys from platforms like Shein and Temu (about 90% of these parcels come from China).
The surge has been huge: 1.3 billion parcels in 2022 jumped to nearly 6 billion by 2025.
EU cites fairness and safety concerns
EU leaders say this new charge is about leveling the playing field for local shops struggling with all those cheap imports.
There's also a safety angle: an EU study just found that 60% of non-EU goods don't meet safety standards, with cosmetics and toys topping the risk list.
Regulators recently fined Temu €200 million for letting unsafe products slip through, while Shein is already adapting by opening a distribution center in Poland to ship from inside Europe.