On 1 July, the European Union ended the duty-free exemption for e-commerce parcels valued under €150 and simultaneously tightened its steel import safeguards, marking a sharp escalation in trade defence. A flat-rate customs charge of €3 now applies to each distinct item in a package arriving from outside the bloc, while the out-of-quota tariff on steel imports doubles to 50% and the duty-free quota is cut by 47% to 18.3 million tonnes. Both measures are aimed overwhelmingly at surging Chinese exports, which account for more than 90% of low-value parcels and half of global steel output.

The e-commerce duty is calculated per tariff classification, not per parcel, and is itself subject to value-added tax. A single package containing three different types of goods—a T-shirt, a pair of shoes, and an umbrella—would therefore attract €9 in duties, rising to nearly €11 once Italian VAT of 22% is applied. This upends the economics of ultra-cheap goods sold by platforms such as Shein, Temu, and AliExpress, which together fed a flow of 5.9 billion low-value items into the EU in 2025. The European Commission argues the measure will level the playing field for EU retailers and improve consumer safety, noting that over 60% of inspected items fail European standards.

The steel safeguard, meanwhile, responds to what Brussels calls an unsustainable global overcapacity of 620 million tonnes, projected to reach 745 million by 2028. European mills are running at just 67% capacity. The new rules require importers to certify where steel was melted and poured, a step designed to prevent origin fraud. While 80% of EU steel imports come from free-trade partners who retain half the quota, the tightened regime is expected to raise input costs for European manufacturers.

Logistics operators at Liège airport, which handles 30% of EU air e-commerce, report deep uncertainty but no anticipated halt to online trade. Canada Post has suspended parcel services to 12 EU countries, citing the new customs rules. Chinese platforms are adapting: Shein has expanded warehouses in Poland, and AliExpress will display tax obligations before purchase. The e-commerce duty is temporary, in force until July 2028, when a broader customs reform centred on a new European Customs Data Hub is due to take over. EU and Chinese trade officials met on the eve of the measures, with Brussels calling the bilateral trade imbalance “unsustainable”. The next milestone is the 2028 reform deadline, which will determine whether the flat-rate duty becomes a permanent feature of the bloc’s trade architecture.