EU to Impose Customs Duties on Cheap Chinese E-Commerce Packages Starting July 2026

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Chinese e-commerce services Temu and Shein, known for their cheap products, will no longer be able to sell affordable goods in Europe without additional charges. The local authority has announced the imposition of customs duties on low-value e-commerce packages.

The European Union will apply an additional charge of €3 (Rp61,000) per item for packages valued under €150 (Rp3 million) entering the region. The policy is set to take effect from July 2026.

This measure was introduced due to a surge in e-commerce goods entering the EU. Previously, cheap packages were exempt from customs duties.

‘This new customs duty will help protect the competitiveness of European businesses by levelling the playing field between e-commerce and traditional retail,’ the EU stated in an official release, quoted on Wednesday (24/6/2026).

As a note, the policy will temporarily only target packages from third countries. There will be a separate implementation regarding an EU handling fee for e-commerce packages.

The EU explained that this handling fee will offset the increased costs borne by customs authorities in supervising the flow of packages.

The idea of a handling fee was introduced in a proposal in June 2025. Negotiations on the details and the implementation date of the policy are still ongoing.

‘According to the Council’s mandate, the handling fee should come into effect in November 2026. The content and date are being negotiated between the Council and Parliament for the ongoing customs reform trilogue,’ the institution concluded.