---
title: "The €3 duty kicked in: France records a 30–40% drop in the flow of cheap parcels from China"
description: "France recorded a 30–40% reduction in the flow of cheap parcels from third countries after a €3 duty on shipments up to €150 was introduced on 1 July. Temu and AliExpress sales fell more sharply than Shein's."
date: 2026-08-28T03:26:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/eu-duty-on-cheap-parcels-from-china
tags: [eu-tariffs, china, ecommerce, customs, temu, aliexpress, shein, parcels]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# The €3 duty kicked in: France records a 30–40% drop in the flow of cheap parcels from China

![Parcel sorting warehouse: conveyor belts loaded with boxes from China amid a 30–40% drop in cheap shipments to France after the 3-euro tariff](https://xab.info/media/2026/08/28/eu-poshlina-na-deshevye-posylki-iz-kitaya/eu-poshlina-na-deshevye-posylki-iz-kitaya-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- From 1 July 2026, the EU introduced a transitional €3 duty on parcels worth up to €150, which had previously been duty-free.
- French customs recorded a 30–40% reduction in the flow of cheap parcels after July.
- In June–July, Temu sales fell by ~50%, AliExpress by ~37%, and Shein by ~15% (partly due to a new warehouse in Poland).
- In 2025, 5.9 billion low-value goods entered the EU (more than 16 million parcels per day); over 60% of those checked failed to meet safety standards.
- From July 2028, the EU Customs Data Hub will launch with a full tariff system; in Ukraine, a Verkhovna Rada committee supported parcel taxation for the third time, but the law has not yet been adopted.

On 1 July 2026, a new customs measure came into force in the European Union, imposing for the first time an import duty on parcels worth up to €150 — such shipments had previously been duty-free. The rate is set at €3 and, according to European authorities, is a transitional solution agreed by the member states. The mechanism is aimed at countering the influx of cheap, and sometimes potentially hazardous, goods from China and other third countries that for years had been reaching EU consumers directly, bypassing standard customs procedures.

### What the French customs data showed

The first results of the new policy were announced by the French Ministry of Economy. According to customs authorities, after the rules took effect in July, the flow of cheap parcels fell by 30–40%. The French government interprets this as evidence that customs regulation can influence the behaviour of major trading platforms, including Chinese ones. Importantly, this refers specifically to the volume of goods crossing the border, not to the revenue of marketplaces — this methodological distinction will be key when examining the figures below.

### How Temu, AliExpress and Shein reacted

The sales dynamics of the platforms over the June–July period were uneven. Temu's sales volumes fell by roughly 50%, AliExpress by 37%. Shein's figures proved noticeably more resilient: the decline was around 15%. One factor cited for the smaller drop is the planned opening of the company's new warehouse in Poland, which allows part of the logistics to be moved inside the EU and softens the effect of the new duty on certain product categories.

### Contradictory data

Here it is worth honestly addressing the discrepancy in the figures. The official assessment by the French government speaks of a 30–40% reduction in the flow, while individual platforms show declines ranging from 15% to 50%. These indicators are not identical: the first reflects the physical volume of parcels at customs, the others — the sales dynamics of specific marketplaces, which are also affected by seasonality and logistics decisions (such as Shein's warehouse in Poland). Moreover, the €3 rate is not the final control model: Brussels explicitly states that this is a temporary mechanism, not the final architecture of customs regulation. Therefore, conclusions about the measure's "complete success" are premature for now, just as are claims of its ineffectiveness.

### Product safety and the scale of the problem

The scale of the phenomenon the EU is responding to is indeed large: in 2025 alone, 5.9 billion low-value goods entered the European Union, corresponding to more than 16 million parcels per day. Brussels believes that this model created an unfair advantage for foreign platforms over European retailers, who are obliged to comply with local rules and pay customs duties. A further argument has been safety concerns: according to a 2025 survey, more than 60% of the low-value goods checked did not meet European requirements and safety standards. The new rules are intended not only to add charges but also to give customs authorities tools for more effective control of the flow and identification of risky products.

### The 2028 horizon and the Ukrainian context

The full system will come into operation later: from July 2028, the EU Customs Data Hub is due to start functioning. After its launch, ordinary customs duties are planned to be applied based on the tariff classification of the goods, their origin and value, in accordance with standard EU rules on customs charges. Thus, the current €3 is merely a bridge to full regulation. In parallel, Ukraine is also developing the issue of cheap parcels: a committee of the Verkhovna Rada supported the taxation of parcels for the third time, and the finance minister assured that the final price of goods will not automatically rise by exactly 20%. However, the bill still has to go through parliamentary consideration, and the committee's decision is recommendatory rather than final.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [The number of cheap parcels from China in the EU has sharply decreased after the new duty](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/es-rizko-pomenshalo-deshevih-posilok-kitayu-1787885333.html) - Подтверждает сокращение потока дешевых посылок после введения пошлины — согласуется с тезисом о падении на 30–40%.
- [Customs duties on parcels worth up to €150 have come into force in the European Union](https://1prime.ru/20260701/poshliny-871202583.html) - Подтверждает факт вступления в силу пошлины на посылки до 150 евро с 1 июля 2026 года.
- [EU introduces duties on inexpensive parcels from China](https://charter97.org/ru/news/2026/6/30/689530/) - Подтверждает введение ЕС пошлин на недорогие посылки из Китая как меру против наплыва дешевых товаров.
- [China introduces additional duties on imports of European brandy, including French cognac](https://www.rfi.fr/ru/%D0%B2-%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%B5/20250704-%D0%BA%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B9-%D0%B2%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%82-%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B5-%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%88%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%8B-%D0%BD%D0%B0-%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%82-%D0%B5%D0%B2%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%B9%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE-%D0%B1%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B4%D0%B8-%D0%B2%D0%BA%D0%BB%D1%8E%D1%87%D0%B0%D1%8F-%D1%84%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%86%D1%83%D0%B7%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9-%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%8C%D1%8F%D0%BA) - Контекстный источник: отражает взаимные торговые меры и напряженность в торговле ЕС–Китай; напрямую не подтверждает цифры по посылкам, использован как фон.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: How much is the new duty on parcels in the EU and from when does it apply?
**A:** The rate is €3 and applies from 1 July 2026 to parcels worth up to €150, which were previously not subject to import duty. This is a transitional solution, not the final model.

### Q: By how much did the flow of parcels shrink after the duty was introduced?
**A:** According to French customs data announced by the French Ministry of Economy, the flow of cheap parcels fell by 30–40% after the rules took effect in July.

### Q: How did Temu, AliExpress and Shein sales change?
**A:** Over the June–July period, Temu sales fell by roughly 50%, AliExpress by 37%, and Shein by about 15%. Shein's smaller drop is partly linked to the planned opening of a new warehouse in Poland.

### Q: Is the €3 rate final?
**A:** No. This is a transitional mechanism. From July 2028, the EU Customs Data Hub is due to start operating, after which ordinary duties are planned to be applied based on tariff classification, origin and the value of the goods.

### Q: What is happening with parcel taxation in Ukraine?
**A:** A committee of the Verkhovna Rada supported the taxation of parcels for the third time, and the finance minister stated that the final price of goods will not automatically rise by exactly 20%. However, the bill still has to go through parliamentary consideration, and the committee's decision is of a recommendatory nature.