Unions and employers call on government to act against Chinese e-commerce
Belgium’s Central Business Council (CCE-CRB) is calling on the federal government to restrict the influx of cheap parcels from Chinese webshops Shein, Temu and AliExpress, as they are unsafe and damaging to the economy, De Tijd reports. The appeal is backed by consumer association Testachats and the customs service.
“The current situation undermines our economy, public health, sustainability and industrial resilience. Non-compliant and sometimes even dangerous products are entering our market unhindered,” says the CCE-CRB, the consultative body of trade unions and employers.
“At the same time, the public authorities are confining themselves to good intentions without taking the obvious measures that are needed.”
An average of 1,600 parcels were declared each day via Belgium’s customs service in 2017, a number that rose to 1 million in 2023 and 3 million last year. These are parcels with a declared value of less than 150 euros, the limit below which no import duty has to be paid.
“Almost all of them are parcels from China,” Kristian Vanderwaeren, director general of Belgian customs, told De Tijd.
Import duties
Belgium, with the Netherlands, is the biggest logistical hub for Chinese parcels in Europe, thanks to the port of Antwerp and cargo ports like Liège. Cainiao, the logistics subsidiary of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, also has a large logistics centre in Liège.
Customs officials can no longer keep up with the influx, with staff only able to inspect 1 per cent of parcels, Vanderwaeren says.
"The current situation undermines our economy, public health, sustainability and industrial resilience"
Of the Chinese parcels that are checked, 40 per cent are in breach of regulations, such as the contents not matching the description on the label. The value assigned to a parcel by the sender is often much lower than the actual value, allowing them to avoid import duties.
“I am preparing strict measures: more controls, better cooperation between the authorities and the quick withdrawal of non-compliant products from the market,” Federal Economy minister David Clarinval of MR said.
Handling fee
He has not clarified how he intends to do this, but the coalition agreement states that the governing parties want to give the customs service – which is calling for new scanners, among other things – “modern tools”.
At European level, the Parliament “cautiously” supports a proposal to impose a 2 euro handling fee on individual parcels from e-commerce platforms outside the EU, according to a report it approved on Wednesday.
12 million small e-commerce shipments from platforms like Temu or Shein arrive in the EU every day.
The Parliament also supports abolishing the customs duty exemption for goods with a value of less than 150 euros as part of wider reform of the Customs Code, as it estimates that around 65 per cent of packages entering the EU are deliberately undervalued.
The report also “cautiously” supports a 2 per cent levy on small parcels. It asks the Commission to ensure the amount is “proportionate, WTO-compliant and not passed on to EU consumers”.
An order from the e-commerce platform Shein delivered to a customer in France, May 2025 © PHOTO JOAO LUIZ BULCAO / HANS LUCAS
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