More checks on packages from foreign platforms like Shein, Temu, and AliExpress: this is how the French government intends to tackle low-cost Chinese e-commerce sites. In a context where the increase in American customs duties could lead to a shift of goods destined for the United States to Europe, Paris has decided to take action.
On Tuesday, April 29, four ministers went to Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport to announce several measures: first, according to Eric Lombard, Minister of the Economy, the aim is to limit "the massive influx of small parcels" by "reinjecting fairness into this system and slowing down the flow." "Today, 800 million small parcels enter our territory each year without customs duties, at unbeatable prices. 91% come from China. Behind these figures, there is a reality: a massive wave of often dangerous products, sold without respect for our standards, our taxation, our environmental and social requirements," lamented Amélie de Montchalin, Minister of Public Accounts, in charge of customs.
66% of dangerous products
"Products purchased online" are non-compliant "at 94%, (with) 66% of dangerous products," she specified. The government has announced that controls by the DGCCRF, the body responsible for combating fraud, will be tripled. From now on, a "360-degree control" doctrine will apply. Three elements will be specifically monitored, detailed Bercy:
- "compliance with safety standards,
- fairness in terms of labeling and environmental claims,
- commercial practices."
A reform of customs law at the European level is underway, but it will take time - by 2028, the exemption from customs duties for parcels under 150 euros from China should be eliminated. In the meantime, Paris has decided to immediately implement new measures to better protect European consumers and businesses, which deplore unfair competition. The increase in controls will affect all platforms, with priority given to foreign companies.
A fee of a few cents or euros on each package?
"This change in the control doctrine aims to redress the existing imbalance between European and non-European players." For months, European companies and consumer protection associations have been calling on French and European authorities to better monitor foreign platforms, accused of not respecting the social and environmental standards in force on the Old Continent – which would allow them to offer unbeatable prices, according to these organizations.
Paris also wants to propose a flat-rate fee on small packages, which would raise the price of products from China and restore a degree of fair competition between European and foreign companies. Amélie de Montchalin, the Minister of Public Accounts, hopes to discuss this with her European counterparts in the coming weeks. This could involve a fee of "a few tens of euro cents per item," or even "a few euros per parcel," explains Contexte, this Wednesday, April 30.
While these measures could ultimately increase the price of parcels for consumers, the minister assured that it was not "a tax on consumers. It is a way of making those who today benefit from a system without assuming their responsibilities pay."
Investigations, strategies... Actions underway at European level
At the European level too, the European Commission explained last February that it intended to increase its control over e-commerce platforms, by launching "specific customs controls," in collaboration with local authorities. Over the past three years, the arrival of products from foreign platforms has exploded: nearly 4.6 billion packages not exceeding €150 entered the European market in 2024, which is almost twice as many as in 2023 and three times as many as in 2022, the European executive noted. Every day, nearly 12 million of these small packages enter the Old Continent, Brussels detailed. As a result, "it is essential to finalize our reform of the customs union and possibly bring it forward to 2026," argued Maroš Šefčovič, the European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security.
The European Union also intends to use existing laws to act against non-European e-commerce platforms, such as the DSA (the European Digital Services Regulation) and the DMA (the European Digital Markets Regulation). De procedures are also underway – Temu has been the subject of an official investigation by the European Commission since October 2024, under the aegis of the DSA, in particular due to “cosmetic products without a list of ingredients or unsafe baby toys,” recalled Clara Chappaz, the Minister Delegate for Digital Affairs.
Also read: Dark patterns, dangerous products… Temu targeted by a Brussels investigation
Last February, the BEUC association listed Regarding tests carried out on Temu, "small parts that are too easily detachable in children's toys and baby products, which can cause suffocation, missing or incorrect ingredient lists in cosmetics, or extremely dangerous electric heaters." Similar procedures also target AliExpress, and since last February, Shein, suspected of not respecting consumer protection standards.
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