EU Commissioner McGrath: Chinese trading platforms need to play by EU rules
EU Consumer Protection Commissioner Michael McGrath said he was “deeply concerned” about the millions of small parcels entering the European Union every day, putting both consumers and EU companies at risk over product safety and stiff competition.
“We have experienced an explosion in the volume of small parcels being imported into the EU. 4.6 billion small parcels last year,” the Irish politician told the European Newsroom (enr) in an interview in Brussels on Tuesday.
“If you’re dealing with a volume such as 12 million parcels a day coming into the European Union, that would stretch any system to breaking point and beyond,” McGrath added.
According to him, more than 90 percent of these parcels originate from China and many of them are sent by online retail platforms like Shein and Temu which flood the EU with cheap and reportedly hazardous products.
Without going into concrete details, McGrath said actions were underway against the two platforms. In May, the European Commission already proposed plans to impose a 2-Euro levy on low-value parcels under 150 Euro.
“The message has to go out loud and clear that for anyone selling into the European Union they must respect European Union laws when it comes to product safety and our consumer protection rules, because we cannot expose 450 million European consumers to the risks of receiving unsafe products,” he said.
“De-risking” with China
McGrath also said he was worried about the viability of European companies as a result of fierce competition from external companies players operating in the EU market. “I think that it is very serious for European companies from a level playing field perspective.”
“We have to have the mechanisms to fully implement EU rules and if we do not then it is European companies that will lose out because it is unfair to expect them to compete against others who may not be respecting our rules”, McGrath said.
The Commissioner announced he will visit China later this year to engage “directly with the Chinese authorities, because we need to get to grips with this issue and it’s a top priority on the consumer protection side”.
“We are clear-eyed about the risks and the opportunities of trade with China and they are an important trading partner but when it comes to respect for each other’s rules that has to be unequivocal,” McGrath said. On this note, he said he fully supported European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s strategy to focus on “de-risking rather than decoupling”.
He added that China remained “an important partner” but emphasised that “where imbalances present themselves and where there is any unfair competition and where there is a lack of respect for product safety and consumer protection rules, we have to call that out and we have to respond in a robust fashion”.
This article is published twice a week. The content is based on news by agencies participating in the enr.
