The Belgian Economy Minister David Clarinval (Francophone liberal) says that Belgium supports a proposal put forward by the European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic for a levy of 2 euro on all parcels entering the EU that have a value of less that 150 euro. Mr Clarinval was speaking at the EU Competitiveness Council in Brussels on Thursday.
Belgium backs EU Trade Commissioner’s proposal for a 2-euro levy on parcels entering the European Union
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Mr Sefcovic put forward the idea of a parcel levy in the European Parliament on Tuesday. The EU Trade Commissioner proposes charging platforms such as Alibaba a levy for every parcel they send to the EU that has a value of 150 euro or less. In 2024 4.6 billion parcels containing goods worth 150 euro or less entered the EU, mainly from China. Parcels with contents worth less than 150 euro are exempt from customs duty.
Mr Sefcovic argues that parcels like this create a huge workload for customs officers and this prevents them from being able to check whether the goods contained inside them adhere to EU safety and quality standards. He proposes a 2-euro levy for parcels sent directly to consumers and a 50 cent levy for parcels sent to warehouses. Online marketplaces sites such as Alibaba Temu and Shein would have to pay the levy.
European economy ministers met in Brussels on Thursday at the EU Competitiveness Council to discuss how to make the EU’s policies more business friendly.
The Belgian Economy Minister David Clarinval said that in the light of the import tariffs introduced by US president Donald Trump, international trade is currently under pressure, and that China could redirect much of its trade from the US to the EU. This would mean that the EU could "fall victim to an invasion of parcels".
Mr Clarinval added that as things stand the small low-value parcels constitute unfair competition for European companies. A levy would "protect our companies from unfair competition and, in particular, from the destabilisation of international trade caused by President Trump's tariffs”.
No details with regard to a timeline for the introduction of a levy were given at Thursday’s meeting. The Commission did not provide further details or a timeline regarding the proposal on Thursday.