The European Union is preparing to make a major change to how small packages enter the region, a move that could reshape cross-border e-commerce and parcel logistics.
What’s Related
Starting in July 2026, the EU plans to end its long-standing “de minimis” rule, which currently allows low-value goods to enter the bloc without customs duties. Under the new plan, every e-commerce parcel valued at under €150 (about $160) arriving from outside the EU will incur a flat customs fee of €3 (about $3.25).
EU officials say the change is meant to deal with the massive growth in small parcel shipments, many of which arrive daily from overseas sellers. Last year alone, billions of low-value packages entered the EU, putting pressure on customs agencies and raising concerns around safety, compliance, and lost revenue.
The rule change is expected to hit cross-border e-commerce platforms especially hard. Companies that rely on shipping large volumes of low-cost items directly to European consumers will now need to factor the new fee into pricing, delivery costs, and fulfillment strategies.
For logistics providers, the shift means more paperwork and tighter border checks. Parcels that once moved quickly through customs with minimal oversight will now require full data declarations, which could slow processing times and add operational strain.
EU leaders say the goal isn’t to block trade, but to level the playing field for European retailers and give customs authorities better visibility into what’s entering the market. Officials have also raised safety concerns, noting that lightly checked parcels can sometimes contain non-compliant or unsafe products.
The €3 ($3.25) fee is seen as a first step. EU policymakers have signaled that additional changes could follow later in 2026, including broader customs reforms aimed at modernizing the flow of goods into the region.
How this compares to de minimis in the U.S.
The EU’s move follows a similar shift already underway in the United States. As of August 29, the U.S. ended its $800 de minimis exemption, meaning low-value imports are now subject to duties instead of entering duty-free. The change marked a major policy shift after years of concern over the flood of small, cross-border e-commerce shipments and the strain they placed on customs systems.
President Trump signed the executive order in July 2025, citing concerns about tariff evasion and illicit goods. The change hit platforms like Shein and Temu especially hard, as they’d built their business models around direct-to-consumer shipping under the threshold.
Together, the U.S. and EU moves signal a clear trend. Governments on both sides of the Atlantic are tightening rules around low-value imports, raising costs for direct-to-consumer shipping models and forcing retailers and logistics providers to rethink how they move small parcels across borders.
