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Temu and Shein have grown 'exponentially' - European

Commission

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Commission to prioritise checks on low-value parcels

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Number of low-value parcels into EU more than doubled last

year

By Helen Reid

LONDON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The European Union will

increase customs checks on goods shipped directly by ecommerce

retailers like Temu and Shein to EU consumers as it seeks to

ensure fair competition and product safety, according to a draft

of an official communication seen by Reuters on Monday.

The directive from the European Commission, expected to be

published on Wednesday, will affect all non-EU ecommerce

retailers although it specifically addresses the rapid growth of

Temu, an online marketplace owned by Chinese ecommerce giant PDD

Holdings ( PDD ), and Shein, a fast-fashion retailer founded in

China but now headquartered in Singapore.

Both retailers have undercut local players with ultra-low

prices for products made in China, and benefited from an EU law

giving parcels worth less than 150 euros ($153.71) duty-free

status, a measure critics say gives them an unfair advantage.

Clothing, for example, is usually subject to a 12% import duty

to enter the EU.

The European Union-wide customs operation will prioritise

controls on products bought online that present "significant

safety hazards and risks of non-compliance", the European

Commission said, calling on all member states to participate.

The precise list of products will be determined in agreement

with member states.

According to the Commission, 91% of all ecommerce shipments

into the EU valued under 150 euros last year came from China. In

total 4.6 billion low-value shipments arrived in the EU last

year, more than double the number in 2023.

"The surge of these imports shipped directly to consumers

raises significant challenges that require urgent attention, in

particular where imported products may be dangerous, counterfeit

or otherwise do not comply with EU law," the Commission said in

the draft document.

Customs handling capacity at the EU border has also not

increased sufficiently to manage this surge in parcels, the

Commission said, calling for "urgent" adoption of its customs

reform package which would scrap the 150-euro duty-free limit

and create an EU Customs Authority to reinforce border capacity.

The Commission said it would work with legislators to

frontload to 2026 parts of its planned customs reform, in

particular the EU Customs Authority and the preparations for a

Data Hub for e-commerce, ahead of the planned 2028 start date.

The equivalent "de minimis" rule in the U.S., which allows

duty-free access for parcels under $800 in value, was scrapped

for products coming from China, Mexico and Canada, as part of

President Donald Trump's package of tariffs targeting those

countries announced on Saturday.

Contents of the draft European Commission document were

first reported by the Financial Times.

($1 = 0.9759 euros)