Amid an ongoing tariff war with China, the European Union is now planning to take aim at cheap imports from the country’s online retailers Temu, Shein, and AliExpress, according to a report by the Financial Times.
The EU currently has a 150 euros ($161) threshold under which items can be bought from a non-EU country duty free.
But the European Commission will, later this month, suggest scrapping that threshold, FT said, citing three people briefed on the matter.
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The EU has been discussing abolishing the limit as part of a customs reform project proposed by the Commission in May 2023. But it could now seek to speed up its adoption to counter a surge of cheap imports, the FT report said.
2 billion parcels last year
Two billion parcels with a declared value of less than 150 euros arrived in the EU from outside countries in 2023, according to the Commission.
“It has become clear that the sheer volumes of e-commerce are testing customs’ limits,” it said.
AliExpress parent Alibaba, Temu, and the European Union did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Shein said: “We are fully supportive of efforts by lawmakers to reform the de minimis provision.”
Critics of Shein and Temu in the United States have previously complained that they use import tax exemption there to undercut rivals and avoid customs inspections of their products.
The practice helps the two companies offer dresses for as little as $8 and smart watches for $25 to shoppers around the world.
- Reuters, with additional editing by Vishakha Saxena
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