Chinese e-commerce giants such as Temu and Shein are moving stock into Europe and working with local sellers to limit the cost of the EU’s new 3-euro duty on small parcels from outside the bloc.
The duty has applied across the EU since July 1, 2026. It has already brought in more than 2 million euros in Cyprus from imports from China.
The platforms have made two main changes. Both aim to manage how customers see the duty and to cut its financial impact as far as possible.
The first change is to their systems and prices. The duty is now paid at checkout, so shoppers pay nothing extra when the item arrives.
The second is a longer-term model with a bigger presence inside Europe. That means local sellers and more stock held in the EU, which avoids the 3-euro charge per item that applies when a European shopper receives a product directly from China.
Temu has made one such move in Cyprus. In September, it announced a partnership with the Cyprus IT Enterprises Association (CITEA). The partnership aims to link the platform more closely with Cypriot businesses and to use Temu as a channel into European markets. It builds on the Local Seller Program, which Temu brought to Cyprus in 2025. The programme lets local businesses sell through the platform to customers across Europe.
How the model works
Storing goods in Europe does not make taxes and other charges disappear. What changes is how products enter the EU.
A product worth a few euros sent on its own from China to a shopper in Cyprus carries the flat 3-euro charge. Under the new model, the platforms ship larger quantities, thousands of units per container, to warehouses in Europe.
There the goods are imported and cleared through customs, and orders are then fulfilled from within the EU. Once VAT has been paid, a product can move freely within the EU. Sending it on to Cyprus is therefore not a new import from a third country, and the 3-euro duty does not apply.
The company still pays VAT, customs duties, transport, storage and distribution. However, the cost per item is lower, especially for very cheap products, where a 3-euro charge can equal or even exceed the purchase price.
The savings go beyond the duty. Shipping a container of thousands of products costs less per item than sending thousands of separate parcels from Asia to Europe. It also shortens delivery times and makes returns easier.
The model has costs of its own: it requires warehouses, larger stocks and accurate demand forecasting. But the more direct small parcels from outside the EU cost, the stronger the incentive for the platforms to go local and move more of their business into Europe to keep supplying European customers.
In effect, shoppers who want to avoid the 3-euro charge will buy products “made in China”, but with a European address.
