Europe now charges every parcel. Who absorbs the bill?

In the EU*, the duty exemption on small parcels is over. For years, goods worth less than €150 entered the single market without customs duty, a rule written for occasional mail orders and later used by billions of direct-to-consumer shipments.

Both sides of the Atlantic are now converging on one principle: every parcel pays, and someone solvent is accountable for it. The United States suspended its $800 de minimis exemption and will repeal it by law in July 2027; the EU has moved to a flat duty while its wider customs reform is completed.

Why it lands on the parcel

A flat €3 per product category is small on a €40 order, but it is not small on a €6 accessory. It changes the economics of the cheapest cross-border items first, which is exactly the segment where marketplaces shipping direct from Asia had grown fastest.

The handling fee adds a second layer. It is meant to cover the cost of controlling billions of low-value items, and it is charged per parcel rather than per euro of value. Consolidating orders into fewer parcels, or stocking goods inside the EU, becomes more attractive overnight.

The regulation also favours paying duties at checkout, known as DDP*, which gives the customer a final price with no surprise at delivery. Sellers already registered for IOSS* for VAT* have a head start, because the data they collect at checkout is the same data customs now needs.

Who absorbs the bill

Three options are on the table for merchants: absorb the cost, pass it on in the displayed price, or restructure the flow through local stock and consolidated shipments. Early signs point to a mix, with price increases on the lowest-value items and a shift of fast-moving references into European warehouses.

For carriers and postal operators, value is shifting from moving boxes to moving data: tariff classification, country of origin, declared value. Operators that can guarantee clean data at scale become part of the product, not just the transport.