EU Customs Code Overhaul: €2 Parcel Fee Joins €3 Duty in November
The EU ended its €150 parcel duty exemption with a €3 per-item charge, adopted a new Customs Code making platforms importers, and adds a €2 fee in November.
Low Value Parcels
Low-value parcels are the small, inexpensive packages that flow across borders every day, often shipped directly from overseas sellers to individual consumers. For years, many countries let these shipments enter with little or no duty under so-called de minimis thresholds. The aim was to keep customs processing simple and focus resources on larger commercial freight.
That arrangement is now being rethought. The rise of ultra-low-cost e-commerce platforms has sent parcel volumes soaring, and governments are questioning whether duty-free treatment still makes sense. Critics argue the exemptions disadvantage domestic retailers, strain customs inspection capacity and make it harder to screen for unsafe or counterfeit goods. Supporters warn that new fees and paperwork could raise prices for shoppers and burden postal operators and small businesses.
In the United States and the European Union, policymakers have moved to suspend or replace long-standing exemptions with new entry procedures and per-parcel charges. Those changes ripple outward to marketplaces, logistics providers, national postal services and the international bodies that coordinate mail between countries.
What you'll find here
- Policy and regulation: changes to de minimis thresholds, new duties and fees, and customs entry requirements
- Implementation timelines: deadlines, phase-ins and delays as agencies and carriers adapt
- Platform and retail impact: how cross-border sellers adjust pricing, fulfillment and warehousing strategies
- Postal and logistics angles: the effect on mail networks, express carriers and international postal cooperation
- Market data: rankings and trends in cross-border e-commerce volumes
Follow this page to track how the economics of shipping small packages around the world continue to shift.
Latest findings
De Minimis Imports: US Rules and EU €3 Duty Reshape Small Parcels
The US made its $800 de minimis suspension permanent in June 2026 as the EU imposed a €3 duty on parcels under €150, with a handling fee due in November.
EU Low-Value Parcel Fee Draws Warning From Global Postal Union Chief
UPU chief Masahiko Metoki says the EU's new charges on parcels under €150 could hit global postal and logistics networks as Temu and Shein volumes fall.
Cross-Border E-Commerce: Amazon and Temu Top €176bn EU Ranking
Amazon, Temu and AliExpress lead Europe's top 100 cross-border marketplaces, which grew 16% to €176bn in 2025, as the EU ends duty-free imports of small
De Minimis Suspension: CBP Pushes Postal Entry Deadline to 2027
CBP indefinitely suspended the $800 de minimis exemption and created a postal entry process, now delayed to Jan. 20, 2027, as the EU adds a €3 parcel duty.
Temu and Shein Prices Climb as De Minimis Parcel Exemptions End
Temu and Shein have raised prices and shifted to local warehouses as the US ended its $800 de minimis rule and the EU imposed a €3 duty on low-value parcels.
De minimis imports face new US entry rules and EU €3 parcel duty
The US suspended its $800 de minimis exemption by regulation and is building new parcel entry rules, while the EU replaced its €150 relief with a €3 per-item
De Minimis Repeal Keeps Shein and Temu Prices Higher for Good
Shein and Temu raised U.S. prices as the $800 de minimis exemption ended. Some items jumped up to 377%, and duties on low-value parcels are now locked in.
De Minimis Repeal Sent U.S. Postal Traffic Down 81% as EU Follows
U.S.-bound postal traffic fell 81% when de minimis ended in 2025. A year on, Shein and Temu prices are up and the EU is taxing small parcels too.
EU Customs Code Reform Stacks €2 Handling Fee on €3 Parcel Duty
The EU's new Union Customs Code is law: a €2 per-item handling fee is due 1 November on top of the €3 low-value parcel duty, with a customs Data Hub in 2028.