For China’s largest online platforms, the initial results were also significant: in July, Temu’s sales in France fell by 50%, AliExpress’s by 37%, and Shein’s by 15%.
It should be noted that, effective July 1, the European Union introduced a flat duty of €3 per product category for packages valued at up to €150. Prior to this, such shipments were exempt from customs duties. Under EU rules, if a single package contains goods in different tariff categories, €3 is levied on each of them.
French Economy Minister Roland Lescure cited the initial results as evidence that tighter regulation can change the behavior of major Asian platforms.
“There is no inevitability when it comes to China,” Lescure said at an event hosted by the French employers’ association Medef. “If we pursue the right public policy, we can win—and we will win,” he added.
The scale of the market targeted by the measure remains enormous. According to the Directorate General for Taxation and Customs, in 2025, the EU received nearly 5.9 billion small parcels—approximately 97% of the total volume of imported shipments by number, although they accounted for only about 2.1% of the value of imports. The average value of goods in this category was less than €9. China accounted for 93% of these goods by volume and 78% by value.
It is precisely the low value of most purchases that makes a flat-rate duty particularly sensitive for the business model of platforms focused on a large number of low-cost orders. Three euros for an item costing a few euros significantly changes the final price, whereas for a more expensive purchase, the impact of the fee is much smaller.
Data from the French service Joko, which analyzes the banking transactions of 1.5 million people, shows how this has affected individual platforms. Between June and July, Temu’s sales in France fell by 50%, AliExpress’s by 37%, and Shein’s by 15%. At Temu, however, revenue declined less than the number of purchases: consumers began buying less frequently, but the average order value increased.
The average order value at Temu rose by 30% over the month, and at AliExpress by 27%. According to Joko, AliExpress has also begun including customs fees in its prices. This indicates that the platforms are adapting to a new cost structure: some shoppers are placing fewer orders, while the remaining purchases are becoming larger.
Shein has proven to be more resilient than its competitors. One factor may be its European logistics: a large warehouse in Poland, opened in late 2025, allows the company to partially reduce its reliance on direct shipments from outside the EU.
The European duty is temporary. It is set to remain in effect until July 1, 2028, when a transition to a new system is planned as part of the EU Customs Union reform. Starting November 1, 2026, a separate fee for processing small shipments is also expected to be added, though the amount has not yet been determined.
Chinese platforms are already challenging Brussels’ approach. AliExpress told AFP that the very structure of the new measures has “fundamental flaws” and that the additional costs disproportionately burden low-income European households. Shein declined to comment, and Temu did not respond promptly to the agency’s request, according to Boursorama.
