EU parcel tax ‘will not slow Chinese retailers’: Swiss Post boss

La Poste is feeling the effects of the tax on small parcels Keystone-SDA

The European Union’s customs duty on small parcels from third countries has had a knock-on impact at Swiss Post. The number of parcels sent to the EU has fallen by a double-digit percentage.

“However, things should gradually return to normal,” Swiss Post director Pascal Grieder told the Schweiz am Wochenende. This is what happened in the United States, where a similar tax had an even greater impact initially, he said in the newspaper interview.

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Grieder doubts “that the aim of protecting the market from Chinese imports will be achieved”, as companies such as the Chinese low-cost online retailer Temu are setting up large warehouses in Europe to avoid the tax.

A flat-rate customs duty of €3 per item originating from a third country has been levied in the EU since July. In principle, sellers or importers are responsible for paying this duty. Some retailers are passing this cost on to consumers by selling their goods at a higher price.

A European administrative fee will also apply to imports from third countries into the EU from November 1. Online retail platforms such as Shein, Temu and AliExpress will be responsible for paying these fees. These measures are aimed at combating the influx of cheap parcels.

Although Switzerland was not specifically targeted by these decisions, they also affect local exporters, notes Grieder.

Swiss Post currently handles 100 million more parcels a year than it did ten years ago. Sixty million parcels come from major European providers.

Small businesses account for a further 20 million parcels, and parcels from China account for another 20 million. The market share of Chinese parcels has risen from 6% to 11% of total volume in the last ten years.

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Translated from French, reviewed by an English Department journalist.