EU to impose customs duties on small parcels in 2026 in hit to China's Shein, Temu

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -European Union finance ministers agreed on Thursday to bring forward to "as soon as possible in 2026" the introduction of customs duties on low-value parcels arriving in the 27-nation EU, an EU spokesman said, in a move that will hit Chinese on-line retailers Shein and Temu.

The initial EU plan was to remove the custom duty exemption for parcels valued at less than 150 euros ($174.93) only in 2028. But the billions of packages arriving in the EU mainly from China have triggered a backlash from businesses and put pressure on politicians to act faster.

($1 = 0.8575 euros)

(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski; editing by Philip Blenkinsop)