01ON 1 JULY THE EUROPEAN UNION BEGAN CHARGING 3 EUROS ON EVERY
PARCEL WORTH UNDER 150 EUROS SHIPPED IN FROM OUTSIDE THE BLOC.
IT ENDS ROUGHLY TWENTY YEARS OF DUTY-FREE DIRECT DELIVERY, AND
IT IS POINTED STRAIGHT AT SHEIN AND TEMU.
02THE VOLUME IS THE REASON. AROUND 4.6 BILLION LOW-VALUE PARCELS
ENTERED THE EU IN 2024, CLOSE TO 12 MILLION A DAY, SHIPPED
DIRECTLY FROM CHINA, AND NEARLY ALL OF THEM ARRIVED PAYING NO
CUSTOMS DUTY AT ALL.
03THE CHARGE IS FLAT, 3 EUROS A PARCEL, NOT A PERCENTAGE. THREE
ITEMS IN ONE BOX COST 3 EUROS; THE SAME THREE SENT SEPARATELY
COST 9. ON A FIVE-EURO TOP, A FIXED 3-EURO FEE REWRITES THE
WHOLE ECONOMICS OF ULTRA-CHEAP FASHION.
04THIS LOOKS LIKE A MASS-MARKET STORY, BUT THE WHOLE INDUSTRY IS
WATCHING. TARIFFS AND TRADE RULES RANK AS THE NUMBER-ONE
WORRY AMONG FASHION EXECUTIVES, AND THE LOOPHOLE THAT LET
ULTRA-FAST FASHION UNDERCUT EVERYONE IS THE ONE JUST CLOSED.
05THE PLATFORMS ARE ALREADY ADJUSTING. SHEIN HAS OPENED A
740,000 SQUARE-METRE HUB NEAR WROCLAW IN POLAND AND A
WAREHOUSE IN ENGLAND, PART OF A STATED 250 MILLION EURO PLAN
TO HOLD STOCK INSIDE THE BLOC RATHER THAN FLY IT IN.
06THE FEE IS TEMPORARY, SET TO RUN TO 2028 WHILE BRUSSELS WRITES
A PERMANENT RULE. EITHER WAY THE ERA OF THE FREE BORDER FOR
TINY PARCELS IS FINISHED, AND THE CHEAPEST CORNER OF FASHION
NOW CARRIES A FIXED COST ON EVERY SINGLE BOX.