Summary:

• France has announced that it will suspend its national €2 tax on small extra-EU parcels as of 1 July 2026, aligning with the entry into force of a new EU-wide €3 customs duty on such parcels. This reflects a broader move towards harmonised EU action to avoid fragmentation, circumvention, and distortions within the Single Market.
• In parallel, France has advanced national legislation targeting ultra-fast fashion platforms, while EU Environment Ministers have called for a coordinated European framework addressing the environmental, social, economic, customs, and market surveillance challenges linked to ultra-fast fashion.

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1. France aligns with the EU-wide small parcel duty

As of 1 July 2026, an EU-wide customs duty of €3 will apply to small extra-EU parcels.

France had introduced a national €2 tax on small extra-EU parcels on 1 March 2026, particularly targeting e-commerce flows from platforms such as Shein, Temu and AliExpress. This tax was initially expected to apply in addition to the new EU duty, resulting in a combined charge of €5 in France, compared with €3 elsewhere in the EU.

The French government has now announced that it will suspend the national measure from 1 July, arguing that an additional French-only charge is no longer justified in the context of the Single Market.

2. Harmonisation is key to avoiding circumvention

The French decision also reflects concerns that national measures can be circumvented when they are not applied consistently across the EU.

Since the introduction of the French tax in March, platforms reportedly redirected parcel flows through other EU Member States before transporting goods by road into France. French customs authorities estimated a significant shift in volumes, resulting in lower-than-expected revenues from the national tax.

Italy, which had also introduced a national €2 charge on small parcels, has similarly moved to avoid the cumulative application of national and EU charges.

3. France advances legislation on ultra-fast fashion

Separately, France’s Senate has approved revised legislation targeting ultra-fast fashion e-commerce platforms, including Shein, Temu and AliExpress.

The bill introduces a per-item charge on mass-produced clothing, which would increase over time and could reach up to €20 per item by 2030, capped at 50% of the product’s pre-tax price.

The legislation also provides for a ban on advertising by ultra-fast fashion brands, including influencer promotions, and requires platforms to display messages encouraging more responsible consumption, reuse and repair.

Questions remain regarding the compatibility of some provisions, particularly the advertising ban, with EU law.

4. EU Environment Ministers call for a coordinated EU response

At EU level, Environment Ministers held a policy debate on ultra-fast fashion on 25 June, following a request by Germany, Denmark, France, the Netherlands and Slovenia.

Member States highlighted the environmental, social and economic impacts of the ultra-fast fashion business model, including textile waste, pressure on resources, unfair competition for more sustainable European producers, and challenges for the internal market.

Many delegations called for a common EU definition of ultra-fast fashion, stronger ecodesign requirements, reinforced extended producer responsibility schemes, harmonised EPR fee modulation, stronger customs and market surveillance, and wider application of the polluter-pays principle.

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Commissioner Jessica Roswall confirmed that the European Commission is addressing these issues through several ongoing and upcoming initiatives, including:

• the revised Waste Framework Directive;
• forthcoming ecodesign requirements under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation;
• differentiated EPR fees;
• the future Circular Economy Act;
• the prohibition on the destruction of unsold apparel and footwear from 19 July 2026;
• enhanced monitoring of online marketplaces under the Digital Services Act;
• strengthened customs enforcement following the removal of the €150 duty-free threshold.

Taken together, these developments show a clear shift towards more harmonised EU-level action on extra-EU e-commerce imports and ultra-fast fashion. They also underline the limitations of fragmented national measures within the Single Market.