Brussels, 5 February 2025
The EU Commission is taking action to tackle risks stemming from low-value imports sold via non-EU online retailers and marketplaces hosting non-EU traders.
These actions are part of the Communication on E-Commerce, ‘A Comprehensive EU Toolbox for Safe and Sustainable E-commerce’, which the Commission is proposing today. The Commission encourages actions, among others, in the areas of customs and trade, such as launching customs controls, consumer protection and the Digital Services and Digital Markets Acts.
Last year, around 4.6 billion low-value consignments, i.e. goods with a value not exceeding €150, entered the EU market equalling to 12 million parcels per day. This is twice as many as in 2023 and three times as many as in 2022, and many of these goods have found to be non-compliant with European legislation. This exponential growth is raising numerous concerns. Mainly, there are more and more harmful products entering the EU. More so, European sellers, who respect our high product standards, are at risk of being harmed by unfair practices and the sale of counterfeit goods through online marketplaces. Finally, the large number of packages being shipped and transported has a negative environmental and climate footprint.
In Europe, consumers should enjoy the full potential of e-commerce and have access to convenient, affordable, safe and high-quality products online. Equally so, European businesses should benefit from a level playing field in the Single Market.
In the Communication, the Commission sets out all the tools the EU already has at its disposal and highlights initiatives that are currently discussed by the co-legislators. In addition, it proposes new joint actions to address concerns arising from the surge of unsafe, counterfeit and otherwise non-compliant or illicit products entering the market:
- Customs reform, including calling for co-legislators to swiftly adopt the proposed Customs Union Reform Package, allowing rapid implementation of new rules to level the playing field in the area of e-commerce. These include removal of the duty exemption for low-value parcels worth less than €150 and reinforcing capabilities for controls such as better data-sharing and risk assessment. The Commission also invites the co-legislators to consider further measures, such as a non-discriminatory handling fee, on e-commerce items imported in the EU directly to consumers, to address the scaling costs of supervising compliance of billions of such consignments with EU rules.
- Targeted measures for imported goods, including launching coordinated controls between customs and market surveillance authorities, as well as coordinated actions on product safety, such as the first-ever product safety sweep. This should lead to removing non-compliant goods from the market and contribute to evidence collection to feed risk analysis and complementary actions. Future controls will be intensified for certain operators, goods or trade flows, on a rolling basis, in the light of the risk analysis. The higher the rate of non-compliance, the greater should be the level of vigilance in subsequent stages, while penalties should reflect cases of systematic non-compliance.
- Protecting consumers on online marketplaces, highlighting e-commerce practices as a clear enforcement priority under the Digital Services Act, as well as tools such as the Digital Markets Act, and those that apply to all traders: the General Product Safety Regulation, the Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation, and the Consumer Protection Network.
- Using digital tools, which can help to facilitate the supervision of the e-commerce landscape through the Digital Product Passport and new AI tools for the detection of potentially non-compliant products.
- Environmental protection, including adopting the first action plan on the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, and calling for the swift adoption of the targeted amendment for the Waste Framework Directive.
- Empowering consumers and traders through awareness-raising campaigns concerning consumer rights, risks and redress mechanisms.
- International cooperation and trade, including providing training activities on EU product safety rules and assessing any evidence that may emerge relating to dumping and subsidisation.
The Commission calls on Member States to come together to play a strong role as Team Europe to improve the effectiveness of actions taken by national authorities and the Commission.
The Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network of national consumer authorities and the Commission also informed Shein about the launch of a coordinated action.
Next Steps
The Commission calls on the cooperation with Member States, the co-legislators and all stakeholders, to put in place the measures outlined in the Communication.
Within a year, the Commission will assess the effect of the announced actions and publish a report on the findings of the increased controls.
In light of the results and in consultation with the relevant authorities of the Member States and stakeholders, the Commission will consider whether existing frameworks and enforcement activities are sufficient and adequate. If not, further actions and proposals will be considered to strengthen the implementation and enforcement of EU rules.
Background
E-commerce brings many benefits to consumers, businesses – including SMEs – and the EU economy as a whole, with around 70% of Europeans regularly buying products online. However, it also poses certain challenges. This is particularly true when it comes to the import of e-commerce goods that are sold and delivered directly to EU consumers via online retailers and marketplaces.
Customs authorities are facing an increasing workload, and risks are emerging relating to product safety and compliance, illicit goods, sustainability, and unfair competition for responsible businesses. For example, around half of the fake products seized at EU borders that infringed the intellectual property rights of SMEs were purchased online.
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Quote(s)
The rise in e-commerce imports to the EU market has brought with it many challenges. The EU is ready to address these challenges, coming together as Team Europe to make sure citizens and businesses can continue to enjoy the many benefits of online shopping, while minimising the risks of dangerous products that threaten the health and safety of consumers. We want to see a competitive e-commerce sector that keeps consumers safe, offers convenient products, and is respectful of the environment.
E-commerce has revolutionised shopping. Three out of four Europeans shop online regularly. Yet the surge of imported goods can pose threats to the rights of European consumers and their safety. Now is the time for Team Europe to come together to address these threats and protect European consumers. We have a duty to ensure that goods entering our market are safe and that all traders respect consumers’ rights. The Commission will use all the tools in its power to fully support and coordinate the enforcement of our laws.
As e-commerce is booming, we must step up efforts to prevent non-compliant products from entering the EU market and to ensure fair competition for both European and third-country operators. Our customs authorities are the first set of eyes at the border so we must equip them with the appropriate instruments to strengthen our enforcement capacities, in close cooperation with other authorities instrumental to checking goods entering the EU market. The ambitious Customs Union Reform tabled by the Commission in May 2023 is foreseen to remove duty relief for low value parcels as well as enhance control through a proposed EU Customs Authority and an EU Customs Data Hub. This would be a true game-change to level the playing field for e-commerce players.
Source – EU Commission
EU Commission Q&A on the E-commerce Communication
5 February 2025
Why does the Commission propose the E-commerce Communication?
The EU market is facing growing challenges from e-commerce imports from outside the EU that pose risks to our health and safety, and which are unsustainable from an environment and climate viewpoint, and which are creating unfair competition for compliant businesses in the EU, including SMEs.
In recent years, there has been a surge of such products entering the EU, with around 4.6 billion low-value consignments entering the EU market in 2024. In the same year, just six Member States were responsible for the supervision of 89% of directly imported goods sold online. This has put a significant strain on customs authorities.
The Communication on a Comprehensive EU Toolbox for safe and sustainable e-commerce (E-commerce Communication) outlines short- and medium-term actions to achieve a safer, more sustainable and fairer market.
The Commission will assess within a year the effect of the actions announced in this Communication and will consider whether further actions and proposals are necessary.
What does the E-Commerce Communication highlight in the area of customs reforms?
The sheer amount of e-Commerce imports is putting increasing pressure on customs authorities, with goods bought online already accounting for over 97% of all customs declarations.
The Communication highlights the proposed Customs Reform Package, calling on the co-legislators to swiftly adopt the proposal on removing the €150 duty exemption and introducing a simplified tariff treatment for low-value consignments. It also invites the co-legislators to consider further measures, such as a non-discriminatory handling fee, payable by retailers or platforms, on e-commerce items imported in the EU directly to consumers, to address the scaling costs of supervising compliance of billions of such consignments with EU rules.
Which actions aim to protect consumers online?
Consumers see the presence of non-trustworthy online sellers among the top online challenges that have the biggest personal impact on them.
The Digital Services Act sets EU-wide rules for online intermediaries, including online marketplaces to help ensure that only compliant products are sold on their platforms, . Online marketplaces that have been designated as very large online platforms also need to assess and mitigate risks related to the distribution of dangerous, counterfeit or otherwise non-compliant goods through their services, risks to consumer protection in the EU, or risks related to public health and the physical well-being of individuals.
The General Product Safety Regulation, which came into effect on 13 December 2024, establishes a modernised framework for consumer product safety across the EU and sets out specific product safety obligations for online marketplaces.
Alongside this, the Commission will prioritise the way digital gatekeepers impact opportunities for European e-commerce in its enforcement of the Digital Markets Act.
Online marketplaces are also subject to the general EU consumer law provisions that apply to all traders and prohibit unfair commercial practices that interfere with the consumers’ choices. These rules ensure the highest standard of consumer protection, for instance, by shielding consumers in the EU from deceitful practices and scams. Following a recent assessment of these rules, the Commission plans to propose a Digital Fairness Act to fill the gaps to ensure consumers are as protected online as they are offline.
National consumer authorities are responsible for enforcing consumer laws, and the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Regulation allows the Commission to coordinate enforcement actions with the CPC network, when a large portion of EU consumers are concerned. For example, a coordinated action was launched against Temu in November for practices that are in breach with consumer law, e.g. fake discounts, dark patterns, forced gamification and fake reviews.
The Commission will reflect on ways to further strengthen and improve the enforcement system of EU consumer laws, in particular as regards widespread illegal practices and against non-EU traders, with a view to ensure a level playing field for legitimate EU businesses.
How will the import controls at borders and product safety checks be implemented?
The Commission will announce specific coordinated customs controls under a priority controls area (PCA) together with the Member States’ customs authorities, market surveillance and other competent authorities, focusing specifically on e-commerce imports. This will focus on products with significant safety hazards and risk of non-compliance, bringing together customs and market surveillance authorities to gather evidence about such products.
To further increase cooperation, the Commission will subsequently launch a new Coordinated Activity on the Safety of Products regarding products or product categories sold online, and facilitate the exchange of information between market surveillance authorities and customs on emerging product safety issues and risks. Within the framework of the Consumer Safety Network, the Commission will propose to conduct joint product testing and mystery shopping activities. In the second quarter of 2025, the Consumer Safety Network will carry out its first ever product safety sweep to check and enforce compliance of products that are the most frequently ordered on e-commerce platforms. They will, for instance, check if products bear the required information such as the contact details of the person responsible for the product in the EU.
Which digital tools can aid in tackling the highlighted challenges brought on by imports?
Digital tools can facilitate the supervision of the e-commerce landscape. The Commission will increase coordinated actions and shared digital tools to foster cooperation across all stages of the supply chain.
It will also follow up on the implementation of the Digital Product Passport and expand the passport to include additional layers of information to facilitate compliance checks.
Furthermore, in the first half of 2025 it will propose a plan for the application of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Product Regulation and streamline existing databases into an interoperable system and provide free access to authorities to its new Artificial Intelligence tool, the eSurveillance web crawler, to be deployed in early 2025.
How does the Commission propose to tackle the environmental impact?
The surge in e-commerce imports directly shipped to consumers has very serious detrimental effects on the climate and the environment stemming from the transport of goods, pollution from the use of certain materials or fossil fuel energy in the production of goods, and the fact that such goods are often short-lived products which often cannot be repaired or recycled. Moreover, non-compliant products raise serious challenges for EU recycling industry who is left to deal with low quality, toxic or difficult to recycle products.
The E-commerce Communication calls on co-legislators to accelerate the adoption of the proposal for a Regulation on the accounting of greenhouse gas emissions of transport services, as well as on the revision of the Waste Framework Directive.
What other actions does the Commission foresee to tackle the rising risks of harmful products into the EU?
Providing information for consumers and traders
The Commission will support awareness-raising campaigns throughout the European Consumer Centre Networks, to empower consumers with knowledge about their rights, potential risks, and redress mechanisms when purchasing online. Furthermore, the Commission will continue targeted actions for awareness raising among economic operators offering imported goods in the EU.
International cooperation and trade
The EU will continue its close cooperation with international partners and engagement in discussions at the World Customs Organisation. It will continue bilateral cooperation with countries producing a significant amount of imported goods, providing awareness raising and training activities on EU product safety rules. Furthermore, the Commission will continue to assess evidence related to dumping or subsidisation regimes in the EU.
How can consumers benefit from EU e-commerce rules concerning the import of goods?
Consumers in Europe mostly buy clothes, shoes, accessories, cosmetics and beauty products online. If these products do not comply with EU or applicable national laws, there can be serious health consequences stemming from harmful substances in toys to chemical levels in clothes to falsified medicines and more.
European rules relating to e-commerce imports provide a number of protections that help us to ensure products reaching consumers – including children – are safe and sustainable. Furthermore, there are initiatives that empower consumers to know their rights online so they can directly address any issues.
For one, the E-commerce Communication emphasises that, once the Customs Union Reform is implemented, online marketplaces and sellers registered in the ‘import one stop shop’ should be the ‘deemed importer’ of goods, which means they will collect the relevant duty and VAT and provide the data to customs authorities, rather than the consumer bearing responsibility for the correct payment of duties.
More so, that the Digital Services Act aims to make online shopping safer for consumers, with measures to curb the sale of illegal products on online marketplaces and bring better insights into their potential risks. In addition, the General Product Safety Regulation, which came into effect on 13 December 2024, establishes a modernised framework for consumer product safety across the EU and sets out specific product safety obligations for online marketplaces.
How can businesses benefit from EU e-commerce rules concerning the import of goods?
As expressed in the Political Guidelines of the President, speed, coherence and simplification are key commitments from the Commission, not least in an effort to create a level playing field for smaller companies and large digital players and a proportionate regulatory burden.
There are a number of ways the competitiveness of businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), is affected by e-commerce imports from non-EU traders, not least the fact that around half of fake products seized at EU borders that infringed on the intellectual property rights of SMEs were purchased online.
By using the tools at its disposal, and by proper enforcement of EU legislation through a coordinated approach, the Commission hopes to bring about a level playing field based on effective customs, tax and safety controls and sustainability standards.
To this end, the Commission calls on co-legislators to swiftly adopt the proposal to remove the €150 duty exemption, together with the rest of the customs reform. Additionally, the Commission proposes the introduction of a new fee on e-commerce parcels delivered directly to final consumers, to address the scaling costs of supervising compliance of billions of such consignments with EU rules.
The Communication also outlines ways to give legitimate businesses a fair chance. For example, European SMEs have become heavily dependent on digital gatekeepers. The Digital Services Act introduces rules for online marketplaces to protect consumers online and curb the availability of illegal products online. Online marketplaces must know their traders and they must allow users to quickly flag illegal goods and content they encounter. The Commission is monitoring designated marketplaces, including AliExpess, Amazon, Shein and Temu, and it has opened proceedings into AliExpress and Temu.
For More Information
- Communication on a Comprehensive EU Toolbox for Safe and Sustainable E-commerce
- Press release
- Factsheet on the Communication
- Safety Gate: the EU rapid alert system for dangerous non-food products
Remarks by EU Commissioner Šefčovič at the press conference on the Communication on E-Commerce
5 February 2025
“Check against delivery”
Thank you. I’m glad to be here to present this important communication alongside Executive Vice-President Virkkunen and Commissioner McGrath.
Today, roughly 70% of European consumers regularly buy goods online.
- This reflects the seismic shift in consumer preferences.
- And underlines how vital e-commerce is in our economy – by making goods available with just one click, you can create vast new business opportunities, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises.
But this trend has its challenges.
Last year alone, European consumers imported some 4.6 billion low-value goods originating from third countries. This is twice as many as in 2023, and four times as in 2022.
This is a huge number, and such a steep rise in e-commerce imports shipped directly to consumers requires our immediate attention and strategic action.
Just consider this:
- Last year, low value goods from third countries accounted for over 97% of all customs import declarations.
- Customs authorities in just six Member States were responsible for supervising 89% of directly imported goods sold online.
- And roughly half of the fake products seized at our borders due to intellectual property infringements were purchased online.
Our customs authorities – the gatekeepers of the internal market – need the right tools to keep pace, both with the rise of imports as well as the related risks. And there are many: to the health and safety of consumers, to the environment, even to the concept of fair competition, and the overall competitiveness of our economy.
When traders do not comply with EU requirements, they avoid costs. And third country sellers of goods, valued of up to EUR 150, avoid paying any customs duties.
Today’s E-commerce Communication calls for strengthened cooperation and coordination among all relevant authorities.
As you know, the Commission tabled a proposal to reform the Customs Union in 2023. This proposal anticipated needs related to e-commerce and contains critical measures:
- Notably a shift where online platforms assume more responsibility as importers, because the current practice of treating citizens as importers for customs purposes, is ineffective in ensuring their protection.
- The proposal also includes eliminating the EUR 150 duty relief on low-value consignments and enhancing control capacities.
So, in response to the surge of low-value e-commerce imports, it is critical to finalise our Customs Union Reform, and possibly frontload it to 2026.
In the meantime, we are also proposing to the co-legislators to explore complementary measures, including a possible non-discriminatory handling fee for goods delivered directly to consumers.
In addition – given the urgency to act now – we are proposing to launch a Customs Priority Control Area dedicated to e-commerce goods. Coordinated actions, including the first-ever product safety sweep, will facilitate cooperation to quickly remove dangerous goods and collect evidence for further action.
This E-commerce Communication therefore represents a call to action.
But we must work collaboratively – across Member States, with businesses, stakeholders, and consumers – to ensure that every citizen benefits from a trusted online marketplace.
Thank you.
Source – EU Commission