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The EU plans to make ecommerce platforms such as Temu, Shein and Amazon Marketplace liable for dangerous or illegal products sold online, in a crackdown on the flood of imports from China.

According to a draft proposal seen by the Financial Times, customs reforms would oblige online platforms to provide data before goods arrive in the EU, allowing officials to better control and inspect packages. The proposal comes amid concerns about the rise in dangerous and counterfeit goods shipped from Asia directly to European customers.

Currently, any individual in the EU who purchases goods online is treated as the importer for customs purposes. But the reforms, if adopted, would switch the responsibility to the platforms.

“The surging volume of products that are unsafe, counterfeit or otherwise non-compliant leads to serious safety and health risks for consumers, has an unsustainable impact on the environment, and fuels unfair competition for legitimate businesses, with a significant impact on competitiveness in different sectors,” the proposal reads.

The EU imported 4.6bn lower-value parcels in 2024, a fourfold increase on 2022. More than 90 per cent were from China. The sheer volume of these items puts an “unsustainable strain on the authorities”, according to the draft.

Under the reforms, online retailers would have to “collect the relevant duty and VAT” and “ensure the compliance of the goods with other EU requirements”. The proposal also abolishes a current exemption for goods worth less than €150 from paying duty, making them subject to customs checks.

Customs data from the 27 national authorities will be pooled and a new central EU customs authority (EUCA) set up, according to the draft. The document is still being discussed internally and could change before publication on February 5.

“The EUCA would be able to screen the goods based on this information and to identify potential risks, even prior to the loading of the goods for transport or their physical arrival in the EU,” the document says.

“This will allow customs authorities to have a complete overview on the supply chains, anticipating controls on imports and exports and making control recommendations to the member states.”  

Counterfeiting costs the clothing industry close to €12bn in annual sales (5 per cent of revenue), the cosmetics industry €3bn (5 per cent of sales) and the toy industry €1bn (almost 9 per cent of sales), according to the proposal. 

The bloc’s new waste rules will also oblige sellers to contribute to the cost of disposal of unwanted products including clothes, the document adds.

The EU will also consider imposing a handling fee per package, a plan first revealed by the FT.

Under separate rules policing the market behaviour of large online platforms, the commission is already investigating Shein and Amazon and has started proceedings against AliExpress and Temu.

Online marketplaces are exempt from liability for the goods sold on their website by other vendors unless they sell illegal or hazardous products knowingly or fail to remove them swiftly when detected.

Temu and Shein have all previously told the FT that they comply with EU rules. Temu has said it supports policy changes that benefit consumers.

Amazon has said it has proactive measures in place to prevent unsafe or non-compliant products from being listed on its site.