Duty-Free Limit Falls: EU Aims to Curb Cheap Packages from China

According to the Austrian Trade Association, the damage in Austria alone amounts to up to 4.5 billion euros. Finance Minister Markus Marterbauer (SPÖ) is not in Brussels due to scheduling reasons and is represented at the ambassador level.

All packages from third countries will be subject to customs duty in the future

Marterbauer welcomed the agreement in a statement to the APA: "Austria welcomes the abolition of the 150 euro customs exemption from third countries. The regulations also curb attempts to circumvent this limit. In terms of product safety, environmental protection, and also to protect the European economy, an important step has been achieved here." According to Reuters, EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic also proposed in a letter to the EU finance ministers to lift the exemption limit as early as the first quarter of 2026. This was apparently taken up: According to information from the Council, it has also decided today, together with the Commission, to develop a simple, temporary solution to enable the fastest possible implementation.

EU aims to curb package flood from China with new regulation

According to the EU Commission, 91 percent of all e-commerce imports with a value of up to 150 euros came from China in 2024. The volume has more than doubled since 2023 - from 1.9 billion to 4.17 billion shipments. In total, around 4.6 billion parcels were imported into the EU last year. According to the Commission, the number has quadrupled since 2022. According to the Council, all EU countries are in favor of abolishing the customs exemption limit. It is also intended to send a signal to European retailers.

In light of the exponential increase in e-commerce, the threshold has led to unfair competition for EU companies and raised environmental concerns, according to a statement from the EU Council. Companies from outside the EU have an incentive to split shipments of goods into the Union to avoid paying customs duties. A large portion of the packages is also usually returned free of charge, leading to high transport and packaging costs, which is heavily criticized by environmentalists.

Austrian trade representatives also demanded abolition

Demands for an end to the customs exemption also came from trade representatives from Austria, such as the Chamber of Commerce and the Trade Association. According to its own statements, the Trade Association, together with the European umbrella organization Ecommerce Europe, has been advocating for the abolition of the EU customs exemption limit for ten years.

The abolition of the exemption limit is part of a major EU customs reform, which is expected to be finalized by the end of the year. According to proposals from the EU Commission, a new EU customs authority is to oversee an EU customs data platform in the future. The aim is to provide customs authorities with a comprehensive overview of the supply chains and production processes of goods imported into the EU. According to the original proposal, the abolition of the customs exemption limit is to apply as soon as the data platform is operational, expected from mid-2028.

JKU Expects Little Change in Consumer Behavior

Whether the reform will fundamentally change consumer behavior is questionable according to a study by the Johannes Kepler University (JKU). The more frequently orders are placed on Asian online platforms, the less likely a change in behavior among consumers will occur, says Christoph Teller, head of the JKU Institute for Retailing, Sales and Marketing.

For the study, the institute (IHaM) surveyed around 2,000 people online who had shopped at least once on an Asian online platform like Shein or Temu in the past year. According to JKU, the sample is representative of the Austrian population between 16 and 74 years old. More than half of the respondents (53 percent) rated the abolition of the customs exemption limit as "not okay," as the reform is at the expense of consumers. Among the "heavy online shoppers" - those who shopped more than ten times on an Asian online platform in the last 12 months - even 70 percent rated the measure as negative.

At the same time, consumers increasingly went on a "bargain hunt," according to Teller. Because 53 percent stated that in the future they would increasingly compare prices from providers like Shein and Temu with non-Asian platforms to shop at the cheapest provider. In the long term, it is feared that the prices of goods at Temu, Shein & Co. will remain comparatively cheap despite customs fees, encouraging consumers to go bargain hunting, said Teller. The trend towards price comparison is not limited to Europe. In the USA, 69 percent of consumers compare prices on two to three websites or in stores before purchasing, as found by a study from the consulting firm Simon-Kucher.

(APA/Red)

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