Disputes between the European Union and non-European e-commerce platforms continue. Once again this institution comes to the attention of Shein, a Singapore-based ultra-fast fashion platform that also sells third-party goods through a marketplace formula.
The European Parliament, meeting this week in Strasbourg, voted on a resolution calling for a crackdown on illegal and dangerous products sold to EU consumers via non-EU e-commerce platforms such as Shein, Temu, AliExpress and Wish. Meanwhile, the European Commission said it had requested detailed information and internal documents from the e-commerce giant to show how they ensure that minors are not exposed to age-inappropriate content and how they prevent the circulation of illegal products. The European Commission said it “suspects that the Shein system may pose a systemic risk to consumers across the European Union” following the report in France.
The vote comes after a scandal over the sale of sex dolls and childish-looking weapons broke out in France, which exposed serious weaknesses in oversight of the platform. And this caused the French government to temporarily suspend the platform.
In the text of the resolution, the European Parliament calls on the Commission and Member States to enforce the Digital Services Act and the General Product Safety Regulation, and calls for the temporary removal of non-compliant platforms from the EU market in the event of serious, repeated or systemic violations.
The resolution reiterates the strong concerns regarding the high volume of non-compliant parcels originating from non-EU markets that had been underlined by the European Commission in its February 5 recommendation reporting a real wave of parcels (4.6 billion per year) hitting the EU, 91% of which came from China. Most are small shipments, or at least worth less than 150 euros, which benefit from de minimis duty exemptions. At the last Ecofin meeting, Economy Ministers from 27 countries agreed to the de minimis abolition which should – in line with the Council’s intention – be brought forward to 2026 (compared to 2028, the year in which the European customs data sharing center will come into force). From this point of view, a resolution approved by the European Parliament is also requestedand more resources for customs and supervisory authorities to strengthen controls on non-compliant goods entering the European Union.
