China delivers strong words to EU over proposed small parcel fees

The per-package fee put before European lawmakers would increase costs for Chinese e-commerce giants like Shein and Temu

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An influx of small parcels from China has led to the US and EU evaluating their tax and fee exemptions for low-value shipments. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 3:00pm, 22 May 2025

China has urged the European Union to provide a “fair” playing field for businesses after Brussels proposed a handling fee on every small parcel that enters the bloc, most of which come from the country’s rapidly expanding e-commerce firms.

“China believes that the creation of an open and inclusive trade environment is in the common interest of all parties,” said Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning at a daily press conference on Wednesday.

“We hope that the European side will abide by its commitment to openness and provide a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies.”

The European Commission is proposing a two-euro (US$2.27) fee for small packages valued at 150 euros or less sent directly to customers from overseas. For parcels sent to a European warehouse to be stored, the fee would be only 50 cents per parcel, the bloc’s trade chief Maros Sefcovic told EU lawmakers Tuesday.

The fee would add around 3 billion euros (US$3.4 billion) of income to Brussels’ budget, which Sefcovic said would mostly be used to cover the cost of customs and safety checks for the considerable package flow.

China sent out 91 per cent of the roughly 4.6 billion small parcels that entered the EU in 2024, according to the commission, with domestic e-commerce giants like Shein and Temu bearing the heaviest burden if the fee were to be approved.

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