EU is Fighting Back Against the Surge in Low-Value Goods from China

The European Commission unleashed a new strategy to tackle the growing environmental, quality, and commercial concerns caused by a surge in imports from non-EU countries, largely China. Find out what the Commission is proposing and how it could affect your business in the future.

The Growing Issue

According to the European Commission, around 70 per cent of Europeans regularly buy products online, while the Netherlands are leading the way with 84.2 per cent of people purchasing goods or services over the internet in 2023. Nevertheless, the lion's share of all goods the EU citizens order are bought online on non-EU retail platforms. Last year, around 4.6 billion low-value (not exceeding €150 or $156) goods entered the European Union market, equalling more than 12.6 million parcels daily. The figure grew twice over the last year and has tripled since 2022. According to commission estimates, 91 per cent of all e-commerce shipments in the low-value goods category came from China in 2024, mostly from online retailers such as Temu, Shein, AliExpress, and Alibaba.

The globalised market and online retailers benefit the consumer by offering convenience but also create issues for EU institutions, businesses, and consumers. Customs authorities are facing an increasing workload, while the risks related to product safety and compliance, illicit goods, unfair competition practices, and sustainability are growing rapidly. European Commission found that many low-value goods imported into the EU in 2024 were not compliant with European legislation. For example, around half of the fake products seized at EU borders infringing the intellectual property rights of SMEs (small & medium enterprises) were purchased online. Additionally, the number of harmful products entering the EU market is rising daily, while the vast amount of packages negatively impacts the environment.

Until now, low-value goods were exempt from EU import duties, but the exponentially growing number of packages from non-EU countries began raising more and more concerns over the last few years. As a result, the previous month, the EU lawmakers proposed a new package of regulations, which we will call 'Communication on E-Commerce' for simplicity, outlining concrete actions the importers must comply with to ensure safe and sustainable e-commerce operations.

What Solution Is the EU Proposing?

European Union officials presented the 'Communication on E-Commerce' strategy by stating it is "a comprehensive EU toolbox for safe and sustainable e-commerce", aiming to maximise the full potential of e-commerce, providing European consumers with access to convenient, affordable, safe and high-quality products online. Additionally, 'Communication on E-Commerce' will benefit EU businesses by encouraging a level playing field. "We have a duty to ensure that goods entering our market are safe and that all traders respect consumers' rights," – Michael McGrath, Commissioner for Consumer Protection, told reporters in Brussels in early February.

The new strategy sets out the tools the EU already has at its disposal and highlights initiatives currently being discussed by the co-legislators. The 'Communication on E-Commerce' also proposes new joint actions to address concerns that arise from the increase of counterfeit, unsafe, non-compliant, and illicit products entering the EU's market.

The proposal focuses on seven key areas to tackle the growing issue.

1. Customs Reform

   European Commission is calling for co-legislators to adopt the Customs Union Reform Package, proposed in May 2023, to allow rapid implementation of new legislation and start levelling the playing field of e-commerce. The Package includes rules such as removing the duty exemption for low-value goods and reinforcing capabilities for controls with better data-sharing and risk assessment procedures. The Commission proposes the creation of the EU Customs Authority, a decentralised agency to gather all the member states customs authorities.

2. Targeted Measures

   The EU strongly suggests coordinated controls between customs and market surveillance authorities and encourages coordinated actions on product safety, such as the first-ever 'product safety sweep'. The evidence gathered from these actions would enable better risk analysis and inspire other legal action in creating a safe and sustainable e-commerce market.

3. Consumer Protection

   The European Commission prioritises European consumers, highlighting its Digital Services Act and other tools, such as the Digital Markets Act, the General Product Safety Regulation, the Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation, and the Consumer Protection Network. All documents are meant to better protect consumers shopping online.

4. Digital Tools

   The EU encourages all digital tools at its disposal that would improve the supervision of the e-commerce market, including the Digital Product Passport and new AI tools for detecting potentially counterfeit, unsafe, and otherwise non-compliant or illicit products.

   
   

5. Environment Protection

   With more than 12 million low-value packages entering the EU every day, the organisation highlights the growing environmental concerns. The European Commission suggests countries work on the action plan for the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation and calls for the targeted amendment for the Waste Framework Directive.

   
   

6. Raising Awareness

   Alongside the legal side, protection, and responsibility, the 27-country bloc aims to empower its businesses and raise awareness amongst the 449 million people who constitute the EU. The 'Communication on E-Commerce' seeks to communicate the risks through awareness-raising campaigns about consumer rights, environment protection, and other related topics.

7. International Cooperation

   The EU does not want to close its market to foreign competition—quite the opposite—it aims to continue working with global partners but provide the best possible conditions for its consumers and businesses in doing that. The European Commission suggests providing training activities on EU product safety rules and assessing any potential evidence relating to dumping and subsidisation.

What Happens Next?

Everything stays the same today, but the issue remains high on the European Commission's agenda. Last month, the organisation published its 2025 Commission Work Programme, which includes progressing initiatives on VAT and Customs reform – notably the 2028 Customs Reforms, which includes the new EU Customs Authority and IOSS (Import-One-Stop-Shop) reforms. The Commission will assess the effect of measures taken within a year and publish a report on the enforcement by the EU and member states. Actual regulatory changes for low-value goods (removing the tax exemption for low-value packages) are expected to start in 2028. Still, the European Commission might take additional action if the situation regarding imports from non-EU countries gets worse.

In the meantime, the EU regulator has started looking closer at Chinese platforms, specifically at the sale of non-compliant goods, the use of addictive advertisement design on their platforms, and the marketing tactics used to target consumers. A few months ago, the European Commission and national consumer authorities found that Chinese retailer Temu engaged in illegal practices like fake discounts and misleading reviews. Meanwhile, last month, the Commission requested another Chinese platform, Shein, to provide detailed information on the measures adopted to mitigate risks relating to consumer protection, public health and users' well-being, as well as the details on the protection of users' personal data.

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