Toward Stronger Deterrence for Shein and Alibaba
The European Union (EU) has decided to strengthen its crackdown on products entering the bloc via Chinese e-commerce platforms such as Shein and Alibaba. The European Commission recently launched an investigation into Shein on suspicion of selling illegal products, including adult dolls resembling children, and it is expected that fines may also be imposed.
Michael McGrath, EU Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, and Rule of Law, stated in an interview with the Financial Times (FT) on the 13th (local time), "There has been a surge in dangerous products being shipped directly from China to European households," announcing plans to intensify enforcement. Cosmetics and toys were identified as Chinese-made items with safety issues.
Commissioner McGrath pointed out that Chinese products with safety problems severe enough to cause fatal harm to users are being imported, but only a very small portion are intercepted due to excessive workload. Accordingly, the EU plans to empower the European Commission, which functions as the executive branch, to intervene directly in order to reduce the burden on member states. Commissioner McGrath explained that current consumer protection and market surveillance regulations are not sufficient to prevent dangerous Chinese products from entering the EU. Even when such products are detected, e-commerce platforms like Shein often only remove the items from their listings. Commissioner McGrath emphasized, "A much stronger deterrent is needed."
The European Commission recently launched an investigation into Shein on suspicion of selling illegal products, such as adult dolls resembling children. Depending on the outcome of the investigation, fines may also be imposed. In France, Shein's website was temporarily suspended for advertising problematic products.
Separately, the EU has agreed to abolish the current tax exemption for low-cost parcels valued under 150 euros (255,000 won) as part of efforts to strengthen regulations on cheap Chinese e-commerce imports. Before fully implementing tariffs, the EU plans to impose a 3-euro fee per product category on low-cost parcels starting in July next year.
Previously, the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump also abolished the tax exemption for parcels valued under 800 dollars (about 1.18 million won) and began imposing tariffs based on the country of origin. According to officials from the Trump administration, after the exemption was discontinued, the number of small parcels sent from China and Hong Kong dropped from an average of 4 million to 1 million per day.
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