EU €3 Small-Parcel Duty: Revenue Soars as Liège Parcel Flows Drop

The EU’s new low-value-import duty is already changing the economics of direct-to-consumer e-commerce shipments. In its first seven weeks, Belgium’s main entry point collected roughly €224 million, while small-parcel arrivals at Liège Airport dropped 53% year on year in July 2026. The early data points to a rapid pullback in direct small-parcel traffic, although it does not yet prove where displaced volumes have gone—or how individual platforms have changed their fulfilment networks. 3

What changed on 1 July 2026

The EU removed the customs-duty exemption for imports from outside the bloc valued at up to €150 and replaced it with a temporary €3 customs duty. The measure runs from 1 July 2026 through 30 June 2028; from 1 July 2028, normal duties determined by the type of goods are due to apply. 12

The charge is not simply a €3 levy per physical parcel. It is assessed per distinct tariff classification in a shipment. A shipment containing several items in the same classification incurs one €3 charge, while a shipment containing items in different classifications can incur multiple charges. The European Commission’s example is five T-shirts, which attract one charge, versus T-shirts plus a watch, which attract two. 24

That design matters because it raises the cost of mixed, low-value baskets and makes customs classification a more material part of cross-border e-commerce operations.

Belgium’s early revenue and Liège’s parcel decline

Belgium’s main entry point generated around €224 million in the first seven weeks after the duty began, according to reporting based on Belgian customs data. 3

At Liège Airport—a major arrival hub for Chinese e-commerce goods—small-parcel arrivals fell 53% in July 2026 compared with July 2025. 3 The scale and speed of the decline suggest that the immediate effect was concentrated in the direct-import small-parcel model the policy was designed to address.

The available evidence does not establish how Belgium will allocate or spend the receipts. Revenue collection should therefore not be confused with a confirmed funding plan.

What the data does—and does not—show about Europe’s logistics routes

The evidence supports a sharp decline at Liège, but it does not provide verified parcel or air-cargo diversion figures for France or Frankfurt. It would be premature to conclude that either location has absorbed a defined share of Liège’s lost small-parcel flows.

Broader reporting has described a 30% to 40% fall in Chinese small-parcel imports after the duty took effect, citing French customs figures. That is a broad import-flow estimate, however—not evidence of traffic through a particular French airport or logistics hub. 6

Likewise, a fall in low-value parcel counts is not automatically the same as a fall in total air-cargo tonnage. The supplied sources do not provide a comparable, verified measure of total cargo flows through Liège, France or Frankfurt after the policy change.

What this means for Temu, Shein and AliExpress

Temu, Shein and AliExpress are frequently identified as platforms exposed to the end of the low-value duty exemption. 4 But the supplied material does not substantiate distinct, platform-by-platform changes in their European fulfilment strategies.

The policy does create a clear commercial incentive to reduce reliance on individually imported, mixed-category consumer parcels. Consolidating goods before import, placing inventory in EU warehouses and fulfilling orders from within the EU could reduce the number of low-value direct consignments exposed to the temporary charge. That is an economic inference from the duty’s structure, not a verified account of actions taken by any one company. 24

For logistics operators and marketplaces, the practical near-term issue is therefore classification accuracy and shipment design: each additional tariff category in a low-value shipment can add another €3 charge.

Is a €2 handling fee coming in November?

A separate handling fee has been discussed alongside the EU’s wider customs reforms. Reports have described a possible November introduction and a possible €2-per-parcel amount, but characterize it as proposed or under negotiation rather than a settled EU-wide charge. 911

The clearest confirmed November change in the Commission’s guidance is the move to mandatory product identifiers from 1 November 2026, after a voluntary period beginning on 1 July. 1 That traceability requirement should not be conflated with a confirmed €2 handling fee.

The bottom line

The first available evidence shows that the EU’s interim duty is producing substantial revenue and has coincided with a pronounced reduction in low-value parcel arrivals at Liège. 3 What remains unproven is just as important: there is no verified accounting of Belgium’s use of the revenue, no quantified rerouting through France or Frankfurt, and no confirmed platform-specific logistics playbook.

As the temporary regime continues toward July 2028, the most useful measures to watch are comparable parcel counts by entry point, total air-cargo tonnage, customs-declaration volumes, and official decisions on any separate handling fee.