Vareya
Customs

The EU parcel levy: what the new rules mean for ecommerce brands

A plain-language explainer of the EU levy on small parcels entering Europe, why it exists and what it changes for online sellers.

What changed

Since 1 July 2026, the European Union charges a levy of 3 euro per product category on every small parcel that enters the EU. The measure is aimed at slowing the enormous flow of goods from Asia.

French customs figures, reported by the French ministry of economy and quoted by Dutch business radio BNR, show the number of small parcels has fallen by 30 to 40 percent since the levy started. In 2025 almost 5.9 billion of these shipments entered the European market. That is more than 180 per second, and four times as many as in 2022.

Of those parcels, 93 percent came from China. For years, online shops could profit from an exemption on customs duties for shipments worth less than 150 euro. That exemption has ended.

Who feels it most

The large Asian platforms are hit hardest. French shopping app Joko, which analyses bank transactions of 1.5 million people, reports strong sales declines: Temu down 50 percent between June and July, AliExpress down 37 percent, Shein down 15 percent.

Retailers are trying to absorb the extra cost by raising average order values. The levy is now a structural cost of shipping into Europe from outside it.

What it means for smaller brands

The levy does not only affect the giants. Any brand shipping small parcels into the EU from outside Europe now pays more per shipment and faces more scrutiny at the border.

Customs clearance support is available for shipments into and out of Europe. If you sell into Europe from outside, customs handling is no longer a detail — it is part of your cost model and your delivery promise.

The response you can see happening

Shein is reported to be building a large logistics centre in Poland, near an airport. Storing goods there and shipping from inside the EU lets the company operate more like a conventional importer, and reduces its exposure to the levy.

That is the pattern to watch: when import rules tighten, stock moves closer to the customer. A warehouse inside Europe is no longer optional for brands that want stable delivery times and predictable costs.

Sources

  1. 1.BNR Nieuwsradio — EU-heffing op Chinese pakketjes raakt Shein, Temu en AliExpress hard

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