Thriving Chinese online stores such as Temu, Shein, and AliExpress are flooding the markets in Europe with low‑priced goods – and often face accusations of trading in counterfeits and cheap fakes. The debate surrounding Temu in particular has now also reached politicians in the German government and the European Union.
For one, the focus is on the import of duty‑free shipments. Temu and other non‑European online retailers benefit greatly from the exemption limit, according to which imports into the EU are duty‑free up to a value of 150 euros. According to the EU Commission, around two billion such parcels from third countries were shipped to Europe last year alone, each allegedly worth less than 150 euros. However, the Commission also estimates that up to 65% of these goods imported duty-free in 2023 were declared at too low a value. This enormous volume of small parcels then floods customs controls, as the example of Liège Airport in Belgium shows: Here alone, over one million parcels arrive from China every day, a large proportion of them for recipients in nearby Germany.
The bloc plans to abolish this duty‑free limit. The EU Commission had already presented plans for an ambitious customs reform in 2023, and as part of that, eliminating this customs loophole was scheduled for 2028. The project is also supported by the German Federal Ministry of Finance, for example. However, in view of the boom in marketplaces such as Temu and Shein, many are now pushing for faster action – for example, German SPD politician Alexander Bartz is calling for the adjustment of the customs threshold to be brought forward to 2025.
In addition to that, Temu was recently classified by the EU as a very large online platform under the Digital Services Act (DSA). This legislative package, which was implemented in 2022, aims to better protect buyers from counterfeiting and make online platforms more accountable for this. Temu, with around 75 million monthly users in Europe, now has to meet extensive requirements by the end of September 2024. These include safeguards against counterfeiting and measures against infringements of intellectual property rights. The Chinese marketplace Shein had already been classified as a very large online platform in April and had received respective requirements.
Meanwhile, many retailers based in Europe see themselves at a disadvantage compared to the competition from Asia. An open letter from the umbrella association E‑Commerce Europe criticizes the fact that the business practices of new market participants raise many questions regarding compliance with EU legislation, for example in the area of counterfeit products. In addition to the unfair competition that could result, this could also bring dangerous products onto the European market. The open letter has also been signed by the German industry association bevh, among others.