欧洲 正在“劝退”一批中国卖家

This article centers on the comprehensive tightening of regulations on Chinese cross-border e-commerce in Europe. Once regarded as the second growth curve for Chinese cross-border sellers, the European market has shifted from an accessible market to one where retaining a foothold has become increasingly difficult. It outlines the clear current situation and practical guidance for ordinary practitioners looking to enter the European market.

1. Key changes: The EU has rolled out a series of new policies in recent years. In 2021, it abolished the VAT exemption for imported goods under 22 euros. Starting from July 2026, a fixed customs duty of 3 euros per item will be imposed on direct-mail small packages under 150 euros. Meanwhile, the GPSR and DSA regulations have shifted product safety responsibility to the pre-listing stage, requiring platforms to assume auditing obligations. So far, Temu has been fined 1.576 billion RMB, and Shein is also under investigation.

2. Practical guidance: The European market will see clear stratification going forward. Sellers who rely on low-value direct mailing for volume and treat compliance as a temporary fix will be gradually phased out. Only practitioners who implement end-to-end compliance in advance and operate Europe as a local market can maintain a long-term foothold.

The shift in European regulatory policy has brought new challenges and opportunities for Chinese brands expanding overseas, requiring brands to adjust their original strategies to adapt to new rules.

1. Current environmental changes: Europe has closed the gap in cross-border e-commerce tax costs and eliminated the previous responsibility vacuum. All brands now bear the same compliance costs as local businesses, making the original competition logic based on low prices and exploiting regulatory loopholes obsolete. Despite post-inflation economic conditions, more than 60% of European consumers actively seek cheaper lower-priced options, meaning robust demand for low-priced goods remains—but this demand must be met within a compliance framework.

2. Strategic direction for brands: Going forward, brands need to integrate compliance requirements from the product selection stage, putting in place necessary configurations such as EU responsible persons, product labeling, and after-sales chains in advance, and pursue a long-term localized operation strategy. As speculative sellers are eliminated, compliant brands will enjoy a fairer competitive environment, and Europe’s mature, stable consumer market still offers long-term growth space for brands.

Comprehensive tightening of European regulatory policy has brought clear risks and opportunities for Chinese cross-border sellers, requiring sellers to adjust their business strategies in a timely manner.

1. Summary of policy changes: The EU has established a unified regulatory direction. It canceled the VAT exemption for imports under 22 euros in 2021, and will impose fixed customs duties on direct-mail small packages under 150 euros starting July 2026. Via the GPSR regulation, it has shifted product safety responsibility to the pre-sale stage, requiring platforms to take responsibility for seller audits and governance of non-compliant goods. Enforcement has already begun: Temu has been fined 200 million euros, Shein is under investigation, and violations now carry clear, tangible penalties.

2. Risk warning: Sellers who rely on low-value direct mailing for volume and treat compliance as a temporary patch will be the first to be eliminated. New compliance costs and increased inspections will directly erode already thin profit margins, and operating space will continue to narrow.

3. Opportunity outlook: Europe still boasts a mature consumer market, stable demand and growth opportunities across multiple market segments. After speculative sellers are cleared out, sellers willing to implement end-to-end compliance in advance and pursue localized operation will gain a cleaner competitive environment and greater long-term development space.

The shift in European cross-border e-commerce regulation has brought new production requirements and business opportunities for Chinese factories that supply cross-border sellers, while also offering clear insights for factories pursuing digital direct-to-consumer expansion.

1. New requirements for production and design: Europe requires clear labeling of manufacturers, EU responsible persons, and complete product safety information before goods can be listed, with this information required across labels, packaging, and product detail pages. This requires factories to integrate compliance requirements into the production and design stage, rather than adding compliance retrofits after production is completed, which incurs extra costs.

2. Shifts in business opportunities: Demand for low-price, low-quality high-volume goods will gradually shrink, as small sellers that cut costs via non-compliance are eliminated. Factories with compliant production capabilities that can stably supply qualified products will gain more long-term, stable order cooperation opportunities.

3. Insights for transformation: Factories should not only focus on high-volume low-price orders. They need to proactively improve their own compliance capabilities, cooperate with brands and sellers to achieve end-to-end compliance alignment, and shift to long-term stable localized supply cooperation to capture long-term opportunities in the European market.

Comprehensive tightening of European regulation has reshaped the business model of cross-border service providers and pointed to a new direction for industry development.

1. Industry development trends: Previously, sellers only needed fragmented low-price ad-hoc services, such as one-off VAT registration, securing an EU responsible person, or customs clearance. Now, regulation requires sellers to achieve end-to-end compliance, so the original fragmented service model can no longer meet demand, and profit margins for low-price ad-hoc services will continue to shrink.

2. Core customer pain points: When sellers work with multiple fragmented service providers, compliance gaps are common and can trigger regulatory penalties. Sellers need full-process compliance support to solve overall challenges of meeting European regulatory requirements, rather than just checking boxes for individual links.

3. New opportunity directions: Going forward, service providers that can integrate all links—including tax, product documentation, customs clearance, overseas warehousing, and after-sales returns—to provide a one-stop closed-loop compliance solution will be extremely scarce. These providers will capture higher margins and more customers, and industry competition will shift from competing on price to competing on integrated service capabilities.

The shift in European regulation requires platforms to assume greater compliance responsibility, forcing adjustments to both platforms’ core role and operation strategies.

1. Changes to regulatory requirements: Via the GPSR and DSA regulations, the EU explicitly requires platforms to take responsibility for seller audits, governance of illegal goods, and systemic risk identification, and prohibits platforms from providing services to non-compliant sellers. Enforcement has already targeted large platforms: Temu has been fined approximately 1.576 billion RMB for failing to implement adequate risk identification.

2. Latest platform practices: Amazon’s European site has already integrated GPSR compliance into its account health dashboard, requiring sellers to submit compliance information by brand and product. It has also tied EPR obligations in Germany to product selling permissions, moving audits to the pre-listing stage.

3. Direction for operational adjustment: Going forward, platforms need to embed compliance requirements into the merchant onboarding and pre-listing stages, extend audit cycles, strengthen management of high-risk categories, proactively remove non-compliant products and eliminate non-compliant sellers. This not only meets EU regulatory requirements but also improves the platform’s overall operating ecosystem and reduces the platform’s own compliance risk.

This article outlines the complete trajectory of the regulatory shift for cross-border e-commerce in Europe, analyzes its driving forces and impacts, and adds new insights to industrial research on cross-border e-commerce.

1. New industry trends: Europe’s positioning of cross-border e-commerce has shifted from "a convenient trade channel" to "an accountable market", forming a combined regulatory framework of closing tax loopholes, shifting responsibility to the pre-listing stage, and unified law enforcement. Regulation has already moved from policy formulation to concrete enforcement. In 2026, unified customs duties for low-value small packages will take effect, completing the full-system tightening.

2. Emerging industrial issues: Cross-border e-commerce shortens the long supply chain of traditional retail, bringing new problems such as shifting responsibility, dilemmas for customs regulation, and unfair competition for local enterprises. Existing regulatory systems could not adapt to the new cross-border retail model, driving this current regulatory restructuring.

3. Business model transformation: The original cross-border e-commerce business model, which relies on traffic scaling and low-price volume growth, is no longer viable. The industry will see clear stratification, and a new business model of compliance, localization, and end-to-end operation is gradually taking shape. The barrier to competition in the European cross-border e-commerce market will rise substantially going forward.