EU pushes for Chinese Temu and Shein to introduce '2 euro fee'

The European Union has announced plans to impose a fixed fee of 2 euros (about 310 yen) on low-priced parcels arriving from third countries. This is in response to China, which has been attacking the US and EU markets with low-priced goods.
The move is believed to be aimed at Temu and Shein, two e-commerce companies based in China. On the 20th (local time) the Financial Times reported that Maros Şefčovič, EU trade and economics minister, said:
The Commissioner for Economic and Security Affairs attended a related committee of the European Parliament on the same day and announced that the government would cover the costs incurred by delivering approximately 4.6 billion parcels worth less than 22 euros (approximately 3,400 yen) to households each year.
He made the proposal, saying that nine out of 10 low-cost parcels imported into the EU come from China.
For goods delivered to a warehouse, a relatively low fee of 0.5 euros (approximately 70 yen) is charged.
One proposal was to impose a fee, part of the revenue from which would be used to cover customs checks to deal with the surge in low-cost imports, with the rest to go to the EU budget.
The move comes after U.S. President Donald Trump announced earlier last month that he would exempt imports worth less than $800 from tariffs.
The move is similar to the move to abolish the existing system, which aims to crack down on low-priced imports from China. The abolition of the system will mean that any goods sent to the United States from China or Hong Kong that cost less than $800 will be shipped from the country starting from the 2nd of this month.
"The flood of low-value parcels is putting a huge strain on customs officials," Şefčovič told parliament. "The fees are being increased by 100%.
"The burden should be on the child commerce platforms," he said. According to the FT, more than one billion parcels arrived in the Netherlands and Belgium, the two main EU logistics hubs, last year.
As part of these changes, the EU also announced plans to abolish tax exemptions for low-value parcels worth less than 150 euros (about 23,000 yen).
As a result, sellers on e-commerce platforms will have to register for value-added tax (VAT) and, as importers, will also have to take responsibility for the quality and safety of the goods, the FT reports.