The impact of the cancellation of the T86 policy by the United States has not yet been digested, and cross-border e-commerce may face new challenges: according to foreign media reports, the European Union plans to cancel the duty-free policy for imported goods under 150 euros (about 125 pounds) and consider imposing transaction fees on retailers.
Once the policy is implemented, it will have a significant impact on sellers mainly engaged in the European market, increasing their compliance and logistics costs, and accumulating their profit margins. If a price increase strategy is adopted, the competitiveness of Chinese products in Europe will also be weakened. Although the EU has not yet formally introduced relevant regulations, this trend is becoming increasingly evident, especially after the cancellation of the T86 policy by the United States. The EU's discussions on this policy have become more frequent, and sellers may need to plan and respond early.
According to reports, the European Commission recently announced an important decision: Chinese cross-border e-commerce platforms are required to bear corresponding responsibilities for unsafe and dangerous products sold on their platforms. The European Commission has pointed out that the increasing number of low-priced products from Chinese companies is putting tremendous pressure on customs authorities.
To this end, the European Commission has called for strengthened customs supervision, and e-commerce platforms are required to provide detailed information about goods before they arrive in the EU. In addition, EU lawmakers, including member states and European Parliament members, are called upon to lift the duty-free policy for imported goods under 150 euros (approximately 125 pounds), and it is suggested to consider imposing handling fees on retailers to cover the increasing supervision costs.
In fact, the EU has been discussing the cancellation of the 150 euro tax exemption policy before. In May 2023, the European Commission officially released a proposal titled "EU Tariff Reform: A Data Driven Vision for a simpler, smarter, and safer Customs Union" to address the operational pressures currently faced by EU customs, including the significant increase in trade volume (especially in the e-commerce sector), the rapid growth in the number of EU standards that must be checked at borders, and constantly changing geopolitical factors.
Among them, the EU mentioned plans to remove the current policy of duty-free import of goods below 150 euros, and in the future, such packages entering the EU may be subject to tariffs. The EU believes that up to 65% of these packages currently entering the EU are undervalued and have avoided tariffs. At the same time, the EU has proposed the establishment of a new Customs and Tariff Administration responsible for overseeing the EU Customs Data Center.
In 2024, the European Union is pushing forward plans to impose tariffs on cheap goods, while also planning to cancel tax-free policies for goods worth less than 150 euros. According to data disclosed by the European Commission, there will be 2.3 billion duty-free goods entering the EU in 2023, mainly due to the rapid growth of Chinese e-commerce platforms. Some local retailers and industry organizations have accused Chinese e-commerce of using duty-free channels to sell cheap and substandard goods. In 2024, approximately 4.6 billion pieces of low value goods (with a unit price below 22 euros) will flood the EU market, equivalent to 12 million packages entering every day, of which 91% will come from China.
The European Commission emphasizes that these cheap imported goods not only create unfair competition for EU local sellers who comply with regulations, but also have serious negative impacts on the environment and climate due to the transportation of large packages.
Similar to the cancellation of the T86 policy by the United States, if the European Union cancels the tax-free policy for imported goods under 150 euros, it will also have an impact on stocking sellers. On the one hand, customs duties and value-added tax need to be paid, and the customs clearance process is complicated, which may lead to an increase in logistics costs, which will increase the logistics costs for sellers. More complex customs clearance processes may lead to longer delivery times, affect customer experience, and also impact order volume.