No more bullshit on Temu and Aliexpress. Thank the Union

Although shopping on Chinese e-commerce platforms is beneficial from the perspective of consumers themselves, because they are much cheaper, politicians and the European Union have a completely different view of it. Therefore, in a moment we will pay more for each product. I’m not surprised that users are outraged, but you just need to look at the bigger picture to have a slightly different perspective on it.

In February, the Council of the European Union finally approved new regulations that introduce an additional fee on small shipments from China worth less than EUR 150. So far, they have not been subject to customs duties. Only if this amount was exceeded, it was necessary to pay additional tax. From July 1, this will change and customs offices will add an additional 3 euros.

What will the amount be calculated from? Contrary to previous guesses, not from the package itself. Many people suggested that this would be a gateway to possible bypasses of the system. Ago, Aliexpress or Shein could pack several ordered items into one shipment, so the fee would be charged only once.

However, this will not be the case. European officials have anticipated this eventuality. Therefore, a fee will be charged depending on the contents of the shipment. If there are 3 different items in the package, 3 euros will be added to each of them. If two are from the same category and one is from a different category, the fee will be 6 euros (2 times 3 euros). As an example, 1 silk and 2 wool sweatshirts are given.

Ultimately, the fee is to be collected by July 1, 2028, i.e. until the EU customs data center is launched. Then the amount of EUR 3 is to be replaced by customs tariffs. However, the regulations provide for the possibility of extending this period.

There were a lot of indignant comments under our text about the changes introduced by the European Union.

The EU commutes EU citizens.

The problem is not Chinese products, the problem is the bizarre and exhausting EU regulations that are aimed at taking every last bit of money out of people…

I’m fed up with this EU, they prohibit taxes on everything, you’ll have to go to the toilet for a while if the EU says so

Is this surprising? If we look at the topic myopically, only from the perspective of our own wallets and convenience, then no. Then the outrage is not surprising. The European Union’s decision means that we will pay more for purchases from Temu, Aliexpress and Shein, because there is no doubt that the fee will be passed on to consumers. But what about the bigger picture? I asked about this, among others, the Chamber of Electronic Commerce, which has long been a supporter of additional regulations.

The Chamber of Electronic Commerce welcomes the decision of the EU Council as an important step in the right direction, but EUR 3 is not a solution to the problem. This is a signal that Europe is finally starting to act (…) Hope in the customs area is provided by the entry into force of the full new EU customs architecture with the launch of the EU Customs Data Hub and the complete abolition of the “de minimis” exemption. Until then, 3 euros is an important but insufficient step.

Attorney Bartosz Skowroński, Representative of the e-Chamber for Same Start, points to several problems with Chinese purchasing platforms. First of all, it’s about the uneven rules of the game. Chinese platforms have been using customs exemption for parcels up to EUR 150 for years. At the same time, Polish e-commerce companies incur full regulatory costs: GDPR, Omnibus Directive, DSA, DMA, GPSR, DAC-7 – each of them entails additional financial and organizational costs.

The quality of products offered on Chinese sales platforms is also a problem. Many of them do not meet EU safety standards and pose a real threat to users and environmental protection. We have written about numerous reports on this topic many times. You can even say that although we pay less with our wallet, we also risk our health. Even the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection recently fined Temu for prohibited practices.

Another issue is the impact on the economy. It has long been known that e-commerce is one of the strategic tools of Chinese expansion. The government actively supports sellers through numerous subsidies and lower shipping costs, thus giving them a real advantage in the fight against European competition.

Each order placed on a Chinese platform instead of a Polish seller is a real loss for the Polish economy. The estimates from the KPMG report are clear: within 12 months, the Polish e-commerce sector could have lost from PLN 6.5 to 8.8 billion in sales, and the unrealized gross added value for the Polish economy is estimated at PLN 1.0 to 1.4 billion per year. These are jobs, taxes, wages that could power the Polish economy.

The Polish Chamber of Commerce also draws attention to other issues, including the impact on the environment, Polish consumers giving up some of their rights if they made purchases elsewhere, as well as the impact on the entire ecosystem.

Sales are not only the store’s revenue. Behind every Polish order there is a value chain: logistics, marketing, IT, warehousing and accounting companies. KPMG estimates indicate that the unrealized revenues of service providers supporting Polish retail trade amounted to PLN 1.2 to 1.7 billion annually.

Therefore, the outrage of Polish consumers may ultimately be surprising. Some time ago, there was a lot of talk about supporting Polish companies and buying our domestic products to support producers and the economy. At the same time, we buy massively on Temu, Shein and Aliexpress. We settle for cheap candies without seeing the Chinese noose tightening around our necks.

Don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with buying something on Temu, Aliexpress or Shein. We are only human. However, saying that the new fee is for citizens’ commuting is short-sighted. In the bigger picture, it’s just the opposite. It’s about taking care of citizens. The situation can be compared to the EU’s dependence on Russian coal and gas. Now we are becoming addicted to Chinese purchases, sinking our own economy.

Allegro has a similar opinioni.e. the largest e-commerce platform in Poland.

As the first private company in Poland, we opened a permanent representative office in Brussels a year ago to make sure that this problem is visible and audible throughout the EU. We emphasize that it is not only about Allegro. We represent the hundreds of thousands of companies that sell on our platform. Both we and them operate in accordance with EU law and are subject to inspections regarding the payment of taxes and compliance with all standards. We all incur storage and transportation costs, which, according to reports, are subsidized in China. Platforms from outside the EU often do not adapt to EU law and standards, which creates cost asymmetry that is impossible for European entrepreneurs to overcome with operational efficiency alone. Instead of driving Polish e-commerce, the shopping boom is becoming a source of pressure for many sellers, forcing them to cut costs, limit investments, reduce employment, and even close their businesses. This pressure does not result from competition as such, but from a systemic advantage that cannot be offset without changes at the regulatory level.

It is also worth mentioning the scale of Chinese purchases. In 2024 alone, approximately 12 million parcels below the value of EUR 150 arrived in Europe per day. This is twice as much as in 2023. As much as 91 percent. of them came from China. Moreover, according to the European Commission, the value of approximately 65%. of these parcels is deliberately undervalued to avoid the obligation to pay customs duties.

Consumers often raise the argument of Polish sellers who import their products from China and then sell them several times more expensive. Denying this phenomenon makes no sense at all, because it is a fact. However, on the scale of the entire market, it is only a small percentage or even a per mille of all sellers. Therefore, the argument is not entirely valid.

Therefore, the statement “thank the Union” in the title of this text this time is not sarcasm or malice. Just look beyond the tip of your nose and wallet.