EU Agrees to 3 Euro Tariff on Low-Value E-Commerce Imports, Targeting Chinese Platforms

The tariff, set to begin in 2026, is an interim step toward scrapping the bloc’s duty-free threshold for small parcels.

Workers produce garments at a textile factory that supplies clothes to fast fashion e-commerce company Shein in Guangzhou in southern China's Guangdong province, on June 11, 2024. Jade Gao/AFP via Getty Images

Finance ministers from the EU’s 27 member states agreed on Friday to impose a flat 3 euro ($3.52) tariff on low-value e-commerce parcels entering the bloc, a move aimed at curbing what officials describe as unfair competition and safety risks posed by ultra-cheap imports mainly from China.

The measure, set to take effect on July 1, 2026, will apply to parcels valued below 150 euros ($176), particularly those sold by non-EU merchants registered under the EU’s Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) value-added tax system. EU officials say this encompasses 93 percent of all e-commerce flows to the EU.