The EU customs reform has a new development. From November 2026, a €2 handling fee is being added on top of the €3 flat-rate duty that came into force on 1 July 2026. The combined charge will be €5 per parcel entering the EU from a non-EU country.

This affects all ecommerce imports under €150 processed through the IOSS scheme, which covers roughly 93% of EU ecommerce imports. That is the mainstream cross-border shipping model, not a niche carve-out.

The July implementation went smoothly from an operational standpoint. No significant border disruptions. But the cost structure for direct-to-consumer cross-border shipping into Europe has materially changed, and the November update compounds the position. The measure runs as a temporary regime until July 2028.

Multi-SKU orders face a compounding charge. The duty applies per item per tariff heading, not per parcel. A three-product order across different tariff headings could attract €15 in combined charges from November, before the goods are delivered.

Chinese platforms are not absorbing this. They are building EU warehouse infrastructure to remove the charges entirely. Shein has a 740,000 square metre hub near Wrocław in Poland. Temu has equivalent EU logistics active. Both are shipping from inside the EU. No customs charge applies.

US brands operating direct-to-consumer shipping from the US are now competing against platforms that have moved inventory inside the EU. The cost differential will compound as new charges are factored into consumer price comparisons. In-market warehousing in the EU is no longer a scaling decision. It is becoming a competitive baseline.

From 1 November, structured product identifiers (PIDs) also become mandatory on IOSS shipments, adding an administrative layer alongside the cost increase.