Flood of parcels due to online trading: France wants to take action against China's Temu and Shein

The French government has launched a new e-commerce strategy to curb the annual influx of approximately 1.5 billion parcels into the country, half of which come from China.

The plan calls for France to lobby the EU to end the €150 tariff exemption for e-commerce platforms, the government said in a statement. The current debate on customs reform has stalled in the Council.

The two largest Chinese e-commerce platforms, Temu and Shein, are among the ten most visited e-commerce websites in France. The average value of an item purchased on these platforms and imported into the country is eight euros, according to the French action plan.

Paris plans to target the largest foreign platforms, particularly through inspections by anti-fraud authorities. These packages would also be checked by border security.

In the future, products from platforms such as Temu and Shein will be inspected under a “360-degree inspection doctrine” and simultaneously examined for product safety, labeling and environmental standards.

Until customs regulations can be adopted at the EU level, the French government is preparing a flat-rate "administrative fee" that would be levied on each parcel. However, for this to come into effect, it must be coordinated at the European level, the government clarified .

The influx of cheap e-commerce packages from Chinese manufacturers has been on the EU's radar for months. The Commission adopted an action plan in February and plans to assess its effectiveness after one year.

However, the Commission was criticized last month by a group of Scandinavian ministers for the proposed measures being too weak and for lacking concrete solutions such as fines.

(JP, KN)