Is the era of cheap Chinese stuff over? The EU is introducing tariffs

By: Trademagazin Date: 2024. 07. 04. 12:42

The European Commission plans to introduce new measures on cheap goods sold by Chinese online retailers such as Temu, AliExpress and Shein. This is intended to deal with the increase in the number of non-standard products arriving in the EU from China. Heavy surcharges and a change in the duty-free threshold were also considered as part of the new regulations. The aim of the measures is to protect the EU’s internal market against cheap Chinese dumped goods, but consumers may face higher prices.

The internal market committee of the European Parliament already approved the reform of the EU customs code in February, which is the first major change since 1968. One of the main aims of the reform is to deal with the problem that Chinese products are artificially undervalued so that they arrive in the EU practically duty-free. According to current data, 65% of e-commerce shipments are deliberately undervalued, causing a significant loss of customs revenue.

Temu, AliExpress and Shein in particular take advantage of this system, which would cause the European Commission to act now. According to the planned measures, the current duty-free threshold of EUR 150 would be abolished. This would mean that any online retailer that supplies goods from outside the EU to EU customers would be subject to customs duties.