EU’s €3 parcel fee raises €224M as Chinese shipments plunge

The European Union's €3 customs duty on low-value parcels has generated roughly €224 million at Belgium's main e-commerce gateway during its first seven weeks of operation, while driving a sharp decline in Chinese shipments into the bloc, according to Bloomberg and Belgian customs data released Thursday.irishtimes+1

Liège Sees 53% Drop in Small Parcels

The levy, which took effect on July 1, led to a 53 percent year-on-year drop in small parcel volumes arriving at Liège Airport — one of Europe's busiest hubs for Chinese e-commerce goods — in July 2026, Belgian customs officials reported. An average of 153 million small parcels per month passed through the airport in the first half of 2026, before the duty took hold.bloomberg+1

Belgian Finance Minister Jan Jambon visited a logistics hub near the airport on Thursday to review the early impact. "The first results show we're moving in the right direction," Jambon told reporters. Belgium plans to channel the revenue into hiring additional customs officers and acquiring inspection equipment between 2026 and 2029.irishtimes+1

Broad European Impact and Route Shifts

The disruption extends well beyond Belgium. French customs data show a 30 to 40 percent decline in small parcel volumes from China following the removal of the de minimis exemption, according to European Business Magazine. At Frankfurt Airport, China-origin tonnage fell 16.5 percent in July, according to Fraport AG director Joachim von Winning.stattimes+1

The duty, which applies per tariff classification rather than per parcel, is an interim measure running until July 2028, when standard product-specific tariffs will replace it. A separate €2 per-parcel handling fee is expected in November.taxation-customs.europa+2

Platforms Pivot Toward European Warehousing

Chinese e-commerce platforms including Temu PDD Holdings Inc. ↗ 0.71%, Shein, and AliExpress Alibaba Group Holding Limited ↗ 1.28% are responding by shifting toward European inventory models rather than shipping individual orders directly from China. Frederic Horst of Trade and Transport Group noted that Chinese e-commerce exports showed a 54 percent year-on-year decline in July, though low-value exports to the EU had already been contracting since December 2025.stattimes

"The more notable shift has been in fulfilment and supply chain strategies rather than demand," said Lawrence Tse, head of e-commerce at Menzies Aviation, adding that platforms are increasingly evaluating bulk importation and regional warehousing over direct cross-border airfreight.stattimes