Starting Wednesday, the European Union began charging a €3 fee on inexpensive online shopping packages imported from China — a move aimed squarely at popular platforms like Shein, Temu, and AliExpress that had long enjoyed duty-free access to European consumers.
These platforms built their business models in part on customs exemptions that allowed low-value goods to enter the EU without import charges. That advantage is now shrinking on both sides of the Atlantic. The United States eliminated its so-called “de minimis” exemption for Chinese imports back in May, and extended that elimination to all imports by the end of August. Europe’s new fee represents a similar shift in policy.
The €3 charge applies per customs classification within a shipment. That means a package containing three different categories of items would rack up a total charge of €9, while a package filled with multiple identical items — say, several dresses or several toys — would only be charged the flat €3 fee.
Duty exemptions on low-value imports have existed for decades. The current €150 threshold was established in 2008. However, the volume of e-commerce packages entering the EU under that exemption has exploded — from 1.4 billion parcels in 2022 to 5.8 billion in 2025.
EU lawmaker Dirk Gotink, who oversees customs reform issues in the European Parliament, told reporters that the old system no longer fits today’s reality. “In a different trading world this made a lot of sense, but that world doesn’t exist anymore. It’s been turned on its head by e-commerce, especially from China,” he said. “The exemption was abused and misused on an industrial scale to create a competitive advantage at the expense of EU businesses.”
Industry analysts are bracing for a notable drop in air freight traffic as a result. Derek Lossing, an e-commerce and air cargo consultant who heads Cirrus Global Advisors, predicted that air shipments of online goods into the EU could decline anywhere from 10% to 35% in the weeks following the fee’s introduction, with potential ripple effects on global air cargo volumes overall.
“The question is how effective the platforms are in pivoting to other markets,” Lossing said. “When the U.S. ended de minimis, Europe was a really good alternative that platforms could shift to — but now there’s not a really clear alternative to Europe.”
Lossing also suggested that platforms may lean on their suppliers to absorb a portion of the new costs in order to keep consumer prices from rising too sharply while still protecting their profit margins.
Shein has reportedly been getting ahead of the change by expanding warehouse capacity in Wroclaw, Poland, and increasing bulk shipments of products into the EU. Neither Shein nor Temu offered any comment in response to media inquiries.
Shoppers should expect to see at least some price increases as platforms pass along the added costs. AliExpress, a subsidiary of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, announced that product listings will now display a “Price includes duties and VAT” label where applicable. For other products, buyers will see a detailed breakdown of import charges before finalizing their purchase.
Amazon, which launched its ultra-discount Amazon Haul service following the rapid rise of Temu and Shein, noted that 97% of its EU shipments last year were sent from warehouses already located within the bloc. For items shipped from outside the EU, Amazon said customers will similarly be shown import charges prior to checkout.
The €3 fee is considered a temporary solution. It is set to be replaced by product category-specific duty rates beginning July 1, 2028, when the newly established EU Customs Authority is expected to be fully operational.
