Attention EU Exports! European Union (EU) Passes New Regulations: Strictly Cracking Down on Goods from China!

Recently, the EU introduced new regulations:

The EU has prematurely ended the tax exemption policy for small packages, imposing a fee of 3 euros on each package, with 91% of the goods coming from China.

The European Parliament has officially passed the new Toy Safety Regulation, introducing stricter requirements, with 80% of toy products coming from China.

The EU has launched a series of measures to crack down on "dangerous" packages from China.

The following are the details:

On December 12, 2025, the Council of the European Union adopted a decision: starting from July 1, 2026, the EU will impose a fixed tariff of 3 euros (approximately 25 yuan) on cross-border small parcels valued below 150 euros (approximately 1242 yuan), primarily entering through e-commerce channels.

European Council website announcement

● Tariff amount: Fixed 3 euros per item type.

● Calculation basis: Six-digit tariff code (HS code). For example: 10 pairs of identical material socks: only 3 euros. 5 pairs of wool socks + 5 pairs of cotton socks: considered as two types, 6 euros. Only one charge for multiple units of the same product in the package.

Effective date: July 1, 2026.

On November 25, 2025, the European Parliament officially passed the new Toy Safety Regulation (TSR), which is a comprehensive update to the 2009 Toy Safety Directive (Directive 2009/48/EC). The European Council had given its final approval on October 13, 2025, and this parliamentary vote confirmed the political agreement with member states. The regulation will come into effect on the 20th day after being published in the Official Journal of the European Union, with a 4.5-year transition period for implementation.

European Parliament Official Announcement

In the EU Rapid Alert System, toys are the second most reported dangerous consumer goods. In 2023, the total value of toy imports to the EU reached 6.5 billion euros, of which 80% came from China.

Key contents of the regulations:

Chemical Restrictions: Ban or restrict more harmful substances, including endocrine disruptors (such as Bisphenol A), skin sensitizers, and carcinogens (such as certain dyes), PFAS ("forever chemicals"). The limits for heavy metals (such as lead, cadmium) in toys have been further reduced.

- Product evaluation and compliance: Manufacturers must conduct risk assessments before market entry, including third-party testing. Introduce a "Digital Product Passport" to record the entire lifecycle information of toys for traceability.

● Online Sales Rules: E-commerce platforms share joint responsibility for the sale of toys, must verify seller compliance, remove non-compliant products, and ensure cross-border imports meet EU standards.

Traceability and Recall: Require full traceability throughout the supply chain, including batch numbers and manufacturer identification. Enhance the enforcement powers of national authorities, such as rapid removal from shelves and fines.

According to the latest report on December 14, 2025, the European Union is strengthening regulatory actions against low-value packages from Chinese e-commerce platforms such as Shein, Temu, and Aliexpress.

In 2024, the EU Safety Gate system issued a record 4,137 alerts, one-third of which involved cosmetics, while others included toys, electrical appliances, automobiles, and chemicals.

The EU investigation found that multiple products from Chinese e-commerce platforms violate REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) and GPSD (General Product Safety Directive). Here are typical cases:

- Baby pacifier: Beads may fall off, and the lack of specified size holes can create a choking hazard.

Children's raincoat: Contains toxic chemicals, which may cause skin allergies or long-term health damage.

Sunglasses: No UV filtering function, unable to protect eyes from UV damage.

Children's shorts: The drawstring length exceeds regulations, which may lead to tripping or strangling children.

● Cosmetics: Contains butyl phenyl methylpropional (Lilial, a highly concerned chemical prohibited since 2022), which affects fertility and fetal development.

●Others: flammable phone chargers, dangerous toys, products with electrical short circuit risks.

Proposed Measures and Implementation Plan:

● Joint Investigation: Launch an EU-wide investigation into Shein through the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network (CPC) to check for violations of consumer protection rules, quickly identify and remove non-compliant products.

● Removal of Tax Exemption: The tax exemption policy for small packages will be canceled, and starting from July 1, 2026, a fixed duty of 3 euros will be imposed as a transition.

● Introduction of handling fee: It is proposed to charge a handling fee (amount to be determined) for each e-commerce import package to fund customs investigations and supervision.

- Product Safety Scanning: The new "Product Safety Scanning" tool allows EU countries to inspect hazardous products using an electronic monitoring system before shipment, improving inspection efficiency and preventing their entry into the market.