Updated

Updated · POLITICO Europe · Jun 4

EU Seeks Deeper China Trade Talks Over Unsustainable Deficit, Eyeing U.S. Playbook Ahead of May Visit

Updated

Updated · POLITICO Europe · Jun 4

EU Seeks Deeper China Trade Talks Over Unsustainable Deficit, Eyeing U.S. Playbook Ahead of May Visit

Q: With new EU customs rules imminent, will online shopping from platforms like Shein become prohibitively expensive?

Yes. For many very cheap items, shopping from Shein, Temu and similar platforms into the EU is likely to become markedly more expensive, though not necessarily unaffordable across the board. The key change is that the EU is ending the €150 duty-free threshold for low-value imports. From July 2026, goods shipped from outside the bloc will face a new customs charge, widely described as €3 per product category in a parcel, on top of VAT. A separate handling fee is also due by November 2026, with the final amount still to be set. For low-cost fashion and accessories, that can sharply raise the final price. That matters because these platforms built their appeal on ultra-cheap direct shipments from China. A €3 customs charge on a €5 or €8 item is a major increase before VAT and any carrier or national handling fees are added. Orders with several different item types could become especially costly. The EU’s reform is also designed to force platforms to act as importers, making them responsible for customs paperwork, taxes and product compliance. That should reduce surprise charges at the door over time, but it also increases operating costs that are likely to be passed on to shoppers. So the effect will be uneven. Higher-value orders may remain competitive, especially if platforms shift to EU warehouses and bulk shipping. But the era of extremely cheap, frictionless cross-border purchases is ending, and many low-margin impulse buys will become much less attractive for EU consumers.

3 articles · Updated · POLITICO Europe · Jun 4

Maroš Šefčovič said the EU will open deeper negotiations with China after meeting Chinese envoy Li Chenggang in Paris, framing the bloc’s trade gap as increasingly unsustainable.
Paris talks centered on how to rebalance the economic relationship, with Šefčovič signaling Brussels may borrow from groundwork the U.S. administration used before President Donald Trump’s May China visit.
The meeting came on the sidelines of an OECD ministerial gathering and followed earlier EU efforts to defuse tensions while weighing new restrictive measures against China.
That push shows the EU hardening its trade stance as it looks for a more forceful way to narrow a widening imbalance with Beijing.