READING TIME: 3 minutes
Have you ever ordered a t-shirt for 4 euros, an electronic gadget for 7, or a toy for your children for less than 10 euros from one of those online platforms that come directly from China? If the answer is yes, you are not alone. Millions of Europeans do it every day. But something is about to change — and quite significantly.
The impressive numbers
Before talking about rules and policies, it’s worth pausing for a moment on the data, because it is truly surprising.
In 2024 alone, 4.6 billion low-value items were imported into the EU — that is, with a price below 150 euros. Translated into something more concrete: 12 million packages a day. And this is not a stable phenomenon: in 2023, shipments were 2.3 billion and in 2022 they were 1.4 billion. In practice, the volume has more than tripled in just two years.
This exponential growth is linked to the expansion of Chinese online retailers like Temu and Shein. Platforms that have made speed, extremely low prices, and an infinite variety of products their main strengths — and have won over many European consumers.
According to Eurostat data, in 2024, 77% of EU internet users made online purchases, up from 59% in 2014. It’s not just the young: even among those aged 65 to 74, 53% have made online orders.
The problem: who is monitoring all this?
So far, no news: online shopping is growing, consumers are buying more. But there is a dark side to this story that often goes unnoticed.
Checking billions of packages every year is a real challenge. Some products purchased through online stores may not comply with EU safety, ecodesign, or environmental protection regulations, which can pose risks to human health or the environment.
That brightly coloured toy may contain banned chemicals. That ultra-cheap charger may not meet European electrical standards. That cosmetic cream bought online may contain ingredients prohibited by EU regulations.
This is not science fiction: it is a reality that European customs authorities face every day. The volume of shipments is simply too large to be managed with current control systems.
There is also another damage, often overlooked: the availability of cheap but non-compliant products on online platforms can harm EU businesses that follow the rules but cannot compete on price. An Italian or German company that produces a certified, safe, and sustainable product cannot compete with those who ignore those same rules. It is not just a bureaucratic issue: it is a matter of fairness in the market.
What is Europe doing
In the face of this situation, European institutions have taken action on multiple fronts.
The most debated proposal concerns the so-called de minimis threshold: currently, imports of goods valued at less than 150 euros are exempt from customs duties. This exemption, which originated decades ago to simplify occasional personal shipments, has become the main channel through which billions of commercial parcels enter the EU without paying any duty. The European Commission proposed a customs reform in May 2023 that includes the elimination of this exemption.
But that's not all. The Commission's communication on e-commerce from February 2025 proposes the introduction of a management fee of 2 euros for each shipment destined for the EU, along with measures to strengthen the enforcement of product safety regulations.
Two euros per parcel may seem like a small amount, but multiplied by 4.6 billion shipments a year, it becomes a huge figure — and above all, a mechanism to finance the necessary customs checks.
The voice of the European Parliament
The European Parliament has not stood by. In July 2025, MEPs adopted a report containing recommendations to improve the control of the influx of low-value goods from third countries.
The main requests are clear. First of all, the Parliament has expressed support for the abolition of the 150 euro threshold for customs exemption. Secondly, MEPs have requested that the 2 euro contribution per shipment bethe responsibility of the platforms, not the final consumer. A detail that is far from secondary: it would mean that the cost falls on Temu or Shein, not on the person placing the order.
There is also an interesting proposal from a logistical point of view: non-EU operators should be encouraged to ship their products from warehouses located within the EU, where checks are more manageable. In practice, if Temu had a warehouse in Europe, its products could be verified before reaching the consumer, with much more manageable checking times and costs.
As summarised by the Italian MEP Salvatore De Meo, the rapporteur of the proposal:"Too many goods enter the European market without adequate checks, putting consumer safety at risk and penalising businesses that comply with the rules."
What does this mean for you, the consumer
Let’s be clear: in the short term, these measures could result in a slight increase in prices on platforms like Temu or Shein. If tariffs are applied to orders under 150 euros, or if the platforms pass on the 2 euro charge to consumers (despite the contrary intentions of Parliament), the extraordinary bargain prices we are used to could rise a bit.
But there is another side to the coin: you could have much more confidence that what you order is truly safe. That the toy for your child does not contain toxic substances. That the charger does not risk short-circuiting. That the shoes you wear have been produced in compliance with at least the minimum safety standards.
After all, the extremely low price of certain products has always had a hidden cost — it’s just that we paid it in other ways.
The new regulations are still in the process of approval and negotiation among the European institutions. Updates will follow as the regulatory framework is defined.
Source: European Parliament