Plunged 92%, Chinese sellers retreated from Europe
Sunny Worldwide LogisticsIt is a logistics company with more than 20 years of transportation experience, focusing on markets such as Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia, and Southeast Asia. It is more of a cargo owner than a cargo owner~
On July 1, 2026, the EU’s tariff exemption policy for imported packages worth less than 150 euros will officially terminate. According to the new regulations, all low-value B2C packages entering the EU will be charged a fixed tariff of 3 euros per item according to the product category, which is applicable to different categories of goods in the same package. In addition, the EU plans to impose a customs processing fee starting in November this year, which is expected to be approximately 2 to 3 euros.
This means that the cross-border e-commerce model that has long relied on the "small package direct mail low price strategy" to enter the European market is facing the dual pressure of rising logistics costs and rising compliance thresholds. For Chinese cross-border sellers, logistics service providers and e-commerce platforms, the operating logic of the European market is undergoing substantial changes.
Cancel the tax exemption threshold and calculate taxes separately according to categories
The core of this adjustment is the cancellation of the previous tariff-free policy for goods below 150 euros. According to the new regulations, if the same package contains multiple items of the same type, they will be charged according to one category; if they involve different categories, they will be charged separately. For example, two T-shirts of the same style may only need to be paid once for 3 euros, while a T-shirt and a shirt will cost 6 euros because they belong to different categories.
For sellers with large order volumes and scattered categories, this change will significantly increase the cost of fulfillment per order. According to calculations by Flavorcloud, an international e-commerce service provider, for a clothing order worth US0 and including three different categories, the total new taxes and processing costs may be close to 20% of the order amount.
The small package direct mail model is under pressure, and customs clearance volume has dropped significantly.
In the past few years, low-value parcels have experienced rapid growth due to the tax exemption policy. In 2025, the EU's import of low-value parcels will reach US.8 billion, an increase of more than three times compared with 2022. A large number of parcels come from China, focusing on categories such as fast fashion, consumer electronics and household products.
French customs data shows that since France took the lead in imposing a 2-euro tax on low-value parcels in March this year, the customs clearance volume of small packages at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport fell by 92% in a short period of time. After the new regulations at the EU level are implemented, similar impacts are expected to spread to more member states.
For sellers with large shipping volumes, differences in declaration methods and category classification may cause significant cost fluctuations. Data from ePost Global shows that for a retailer that ships an average of 10,000 similar packages per month, the difference in tariff risk due to different declared items can be as high as ,000 per month.
Multidimensional impact on Chinese export companies
First, the profit margins of the low-price direct mail model are directly compressed. Taking a product with a unit price of 10 euros as an example, a tariff of 3 euros per unit is equivalent to a 30% increase in cost, which will have a direct impact on small and medium-sized sellers who rely on small profits but quick turnover.
Second, compliance requirements have increased significantly. There are differences between the fixed tariff of 3 euros, import VAT, and additional taxes levied separately by some member states. Sellers must accurately grasp the HS code of each product, otherwise they may face fines or customs clearance delays due to incorrect declarations.
In addition, platforms that are good at cost-effectiveness and direct mail models, such as Shein, Temu, AliExpress, etc., will face pressure from rising fulfillment costs and adjustments to pricing strategies in the short term. In the medium and long term, they will need to accelerate the localization of supply chains and warehousing.
As the United States and the European Union have successively canceled their tariff exemption policies for low-value packages, more countries may follow suit and adjust their cross-border small package regulatory rules in the future. For cross-border e-commerce, the model that relies on “low prices direct mail” to drive growth is accelerating towards transformation.
