Belgium supports EU proposal to impose 2 euro fee on small packages

Sefcovic presented the idea on Tuesday in the European Parliament. He wants platforms to pay 2 euros to import packages that are cheaper than 150 euros. The packages, which mainly come from China, currently escape customs duties.

“Due to the import tariffs that (U.S. President) Donald Trump has imposed, international trade is under pressure, and China could redirect a large part of its trade” from the U.S. to the EU, which could then “become the victim of an invasion of all those packages,” said Clarinval.

He also adds that such packages already represent unfair competition for European companies. A contribution would “protect our companies” from unfair competition “and especially from the destabilization of international trade due to Trump’s tariffs.”

In 2024, about 4.6 billion packages worth less than 150 euros entered the EU, or 145 per second. 91 percent of those came from China. Sefcovic wants the extra costs to be used to finance customs controls.

More details about Sefcovic’s plan, which still seems to be in its infancy, could not be provided by the Commission on Thursday. The Commissioner “gave a presentation to the internal market committee about the direction in which we see the proposal going,” said a spokesperson. There is also no timeline yet. The logic behind any levy is that customs services are overwhelmed by packages, and that without extra resources and personnel, it is very difficult for them to cope with that influx, the Commission added.