European finance ministers have reached a provisional agreement on introducing a fixed customs duty of three euros on small packages ordered through online stores, which will hit Chinese giants like Temu and Shein the hardest.

As reported by index.hr, this measure will enter into force on 1 July 2026. It concerns shipments worth less than 150 euros, which currently account for as much as 93 percent of total e-commerce within the European Union.

This decision is a direct response to massive imports from China. According to data from the European Economic and Social Committee, an incredible 12 million small packages containing clothing, cosmetics, and toys ordered through Shein and Temu enter Europe every day.

EU officials point out that the existing threshold of 150 euros for customs duty exemption creates an unfair advantage for foreign traders and at the same time poses a risk to consumer health and safety. Namely, Chinese online stores are often criticized for failing to comply with the strict health and safety standards that must be applied in the European Union. Manufacturers whose goods are sold by Shein and Temu have lower costs because they do not have to carry out expensive testing or recycle returned goods, which is mandatory for European manufacturers.

These online stores are also extremely popular in Croatia, where buyers are looking for more affordable options due to the general rise in the prices of food, energy products, and other living costs. Although the provisional agreement introduces a fixed customs duty of three euros, finance ministers had already previously agreed that the rule on customs duty exemption for goods worth less than 150 euros would be completely abolished. This final abolition is expected around 2028, when a central EU customs data platform should be established, which would enable the collection of customs duties on all packages entering the Union.

The introduction of a three-euro customs duty represents the first concrete step by the European Union in leveling the playing field for European and foreign traders. Although it is a relatively small amount, the key message of this decision is that there is a desire to introduce order and transparency into mass online trade, primarily to protect the European market, but also to ensure that products coming from outside the EU meet the safety standards that consumers are accustomed to. Croatian buyers accustomed to affordable shopping on Temu and Shein will, from the summer of 2026, have to reckon with this small but significant additional cost.