The Shein tax causes a collapse in the sales of Chinese platforms in the EU

BarcelonaA month and a half of implementation has been enough to produce the first measurable effect: imports of small packages from China to the European Union have fallen by between 30% and 40%. This was communicated by the French Ministry of Economy, citing data from the country's customs. The 3 euro fee applied to each product category included in shipments from outside the EU, which came into force on July 1st, is achieving the goal for which it was designed: to curb a flow that in 2025 had reached unprecedented dimensions.

The data refers to the so-called Shein tax, which levies small packages arriving from China across the entire EU, but does not include the new tax in France, which came into force on September 1st and which provides for charges on fast fashion ranging from 0.25 euros for underwear or socks to 12 euros for a coat, with an amount limited to 50% of the product's pre-tax selling price.

Chinese fast fashion platforms like Shein or Temu fear that this surcharge will end up impacting their sales. And this is how investors have also interpreted it. Shein went public this very week with a valuation much lower than it had reached some time ago, precisely because of the difficulties in selling to the European Union and the United States, which tax these small packages.

"These platforms are false defenders of consumers' purchasing power. They sell at low prices, but their products often do not meet standards and lack durability," said the French Minister of Commerce, Serge Papin, to the local newspaper Ouest-France,to justify these levies.

Defense of the platforms

Shein and other platforms, however, defend themselves and argue that, thanks to them, European SMEs can sell their products in China. The head of institutional relations for Alibaba in Spain and Portugal, Mauricio Escanilla, said on Tuesday at the 40th Digital Economy and Telecommunications Meeting of Ametic – the association representing the digital industry sector in the State – that digital platforms, supported by artificial intelligence, have become a "lifeline" for exporting SMEs by allowing them to increase sales even in declining markets. Between 2023 and 2024, sales by European companies to Chinese consumers through Alibaba's platforms increased by 7.2%, while European exports to China fell by 4.9%, according to data provided by Escanilla.

The executive stressed that a small company from Barcelona or Cantabria can access the Chinese market thanks to the visibility, data, and logistics network provided by these platforms. For a productive fabric like the Spanish one, which struggles to export, it is not a minor issue, but a "lifeline for its operations," he stated.

Between 2022 and 2024, Spanish companies sold products worth 2.5 billion euros to Chinese consumers through Alibaba, he said.

At the same meeting, Shein's brand director for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), Christina Fontana, called for greater harmonization of European regulations on e-commerce, as she believes that their fragmentation particularly hinders the international expansion of SMEs.

Fontana further argued that e-commerce platforms facilitate the internationalization of Spanish companies without them having to build a commercial infrastructure themselves in each of the 27 EU countries. These digital markets allow sellers to test the reception of their products, learn about consumer behavior in real time, and adapt aspects such as price, presentation, or promotions to each country, she explained. Spain is a "very important" market for Shein, which has its own offices and teams in Madrid and Barcelona, she said, adding that more than 1,000 sellers are already marketing their products through its platform in Spain and other European markets.