Chinese platforms move the warehouse
As Western governments tax every small parcel, China's platforms keep selling by changing format: they ship in containers, clear once and deliver from warehouses inside the market. Beijing finances the shift as export policy, so the volume stays but moves from air mail to domestic last mile.
From geopolitics to the parcel
- 2024-06in force
A nine-ministry plan treats overseas warehouses as strategic infrastructure, with financing, export credit insurance and faster clearance.64
- 2025-01in force
A tax rule lets Chinese exporters claim rebates when goods leave for an overseas warehouse, before they are sold.65
- 2026-05-28adopted
The Commission fined Temu €200 million under the Digital Services Act, followed by €550 million for AliExpress in July.6621
- 2026-07proposed
A draft amendment to China's E-Commerce Law extends oversight to logistics and payment providers and adds countermeasure provisions.67
- 2026-09-16adopted
The EU customs reform gives lower handling fees to non-EU sellers that consolidate shipments through EU warehouses.6869
- 2026-03
Cainiao announced robotic warehouses across seven markets and JD.com launched Joybuy in six European markets on a local-warehouse model.7071
- 2026-05
Shein opened a 376,000 sq ft automated centre at Cannock in the UK, part of a €250 million European logistics plan.72
- 2026-07
China's exports through overseas warehouses grew 3.3-fold in the first half, according to customs.73
- 2026-08
Shein's sales fell 15% between June and July against 50% for Temu, a gap attributed to its warehouse in Poland.13
- 2026-08-20
AliExpress reached operating profit on logistics optimisation as Alibaba's international sourcing shifted towards local supply.74
- ↓ Volume
China's low-value and e-commerce exports to Europe fell 25% year on year in July.61
- ↕ Cost
A per-parcel duty punishes low order values, while the same goods shipped in bulk pay duty on declared value spread over thousands of units.6869
- ↑ Network
Warehouse demand in the Netherlands, Germany and Poland has pushed vacancy near 3% and rents up more than 35%.75
- ↑ Speed
Local stock lets platforms offer faster delivery, such as Joybuy's same-day model in Europe.71
- ↑ Compliance
Carriers and warehouses handling Chinese platform volume may face data requests from both Brussels and Beijing.67
Our reading: the direct-from-China parcel splits into a long tail that keeps flying and pays the fees, and best sellers that move into local stock and leave the cross-border statistics. Chinese logistics groups follow the volume abroad, so local posts and carriers will meet them as competitors in the last mile, not only as customers.
What comes next
- 2026-11-01EU €2 handling fee per item becomes chargeable, with lower fees for consolidated imports into EU warehouses
- 2026-11-11Singles' Day peak in China
- 2027-01-10Expiry of the extended Washington-Beijing truce
The lens behind the decisions
Companies visibly affected
Solution landscape
Read the full analysis
Western doors close to China's parcels, so the platforms move the warehouse
Washington extended its truce with Beijing but kept the de minimis door shut, while Brussels now charges every small parcel. China's platforms and carriers answer by shipping in bulk and delivering locally, and small sellers pay the transition.
Platforms go localUS-China truceRegulation · European UnionEurope now charges every parcel. Who absorbs the bill?
Since 1 July a €3 duty applies to every tariff line in a low-value parcel, and from 1 November a €2 handling fee follows. Volumes into the main EU gateways have roughly halved, and the fight is now over who pays, who carries the liability and who owns the data.
EU customs reformEnd of de minimisGeopolitics · United KingdomThe UK's £135 gap: British parcels caught between Washington, Brussels and Beijing
Britain will end duty-free entry for low-value parcels only in October 2028, after the United States and the EU have already closed their doors. Until then the UK is the soft landing for direct Chinese parcels, while British exporters face tougher terms in both of their biggest markets.
UK £135 gapEnd of de minimisTrade · Global e-commerceThe small-parcel door closes: who pays, who declares, and where volume goes
The US, the EU, the UK and Japan are ending duty-free treatment for low-value e-commerce parcels, while Brazil has just reopened its door. For carriers and platforms, the question is no longer whether a small parcel pays, but who declares it, on what data and from which warehouse.
End of de minimisEU customs reformSources
- Chinese imports plunge 30% to 40% after EU tax on small parcels · Euronews
- China expresses strong dissatisfaction to EU's fine on AliExpress · Global Times
- Xeneta: August air cargo demand grows 6% · Air Cargo News
- China's Five Year Plan commits to economic resilience, as the Iran war exposes the fragility of global supply · Chatham House
- Opinions of MOFCOM and eight other departments on expanding cross-border e-commerce exports and promoting overseas warehouse construction · Ministry of Commerce of the PRC
- Interpretation of the STA announcement on export tax rebates for cross-border e-commerce overseas-warehouse exports · State Taxation Administration of the PRC
- Commission fines Temu EUR 200 million for breaching the Digital Services Act · European Commission
- China is rewriting e-commerce law to tighten platform rules and add countermeasures · The Next Web
- EU: Parliament gives final approval to rules on e-commerce and customs · Eunews
- Tax on small parcels from third countries: Commission completes EU arrangements with customs handling fee set at EUR 2 · Agence Europe
- Cainiao plans global network of robotic warehouses · Parcel and Postal Technology International
- JD.com launches Joybuy in Europe, emphasizing same-day delivery · TechNode
- Shein strengthens its logistics muscle in Europe with a new centre in the UK · Modaes
- Cross-border e-commerce shoppers in China hit 140 mln in H1 · State Council of the PRC (english.gov.cn)
- Alibaba Group Announces June Quarter 2026 Results (Exhibit 99.1) · Alibaba Group / SEC EDGAR
- The EU scraps the small-parcel duty exemption: what can Chinese sellers do? (Caijing, republished) · 36Kr / Caijing