European Union introduces new customs fees for low-value imports

The European Union is implementing new customs regulations that will increase the cost of low-value shipments from non-EU platforms such as Temu, Shein, and AliExpress. Starting November 1, 2026, a new 2-euro customs processing fee will be applied to every individual item in a shipment. This fee is in addition to the temporary 3-euro customs duty per product category that was introduced in July for shipments valued under 150 euros.

These measures aim to manage the massive volume of small packages entering the EU—estimated at 16 million items daily—and to reduce the competitive advantage of non-EU e-commerce platforms. The impact is already visible in several member states; for instance, Belgium has seen a 53% decrease in non-EU shipments compared to the previous year, while the Netherlands reported approximately 134 million euros in revenue from the July customs changes.

Data indicates that sales for major platforms have already fluctuated following previous measures, with Temu seeing a 50% drop in sales between June and July. Consumers are expected to adapt by consolidating more products into single orders to mitigate the per-item fees.