EU slaps tariffs on AliExpress: double standards or pragmatism?

The EU puts tariffs on AliExpress and the paradox becomes untenable

Since July 2024, the European Union has applied a provisional tariff of 3 euros per customs category on imports of up to 150 euros from China. The measure, justified on grounds of unfair competition and fraud, has peine the debate on protectionism and Brussels' consistency. Until recently, the same voices now defending these tariffs were attacking Donald Trump's trade barriers. The contrast does not go unnoticed by consumers who see a 10-euro order balloon to 25 in fees alone.

The new European tariff: 3 euros that change the rules of the game

The fee, technically designated as a tariff, applies to each distinct customs category within a single package. It is not a flat tax per shipment, as some believe, but can multiply if the order contains products with different customs classifications. It is expected to remain in place until July 2028, when it will switch to an ordinary tariff based on the product's value. The European Commission argues it aims to curb the inflow of goods at artificially low prices that compete unfairly with European industry. However, in many segments — cable ties, adhesives, small plastic items — that industry simply does not exist.

From condemning Trump to imitating him: the double standard

While European leaders and mainstream media spent weeks denouncing the Trump administration's tariff policy as a return to the most old-fashioned protectionism, the EU is now taking a similar path. Even a more regressive one, according to some analyses: the European tariff is fixed per category, which penalizes a 2-euro shipment of screws just as much as a 140-euro one. The unfair-competition argument rings hollow when the affected products are not manufactured within the EU. As one direct witness puts it, "the worst part is that Trump's tariffs did protect his industry; ours only make the same Chinese junk more expensive."

The impact on consumers' wallets

For the average AliExpress or Temu user, the measure translates into surcharges that sometimes triple the value of the order. A real example: a 10-euro purchase — four hardware items — ends up costing 25 euros after the 3 euros per category are applied. The paradox is that the hardest-hit groups are lower-income households, which relied on these platforms to access cheap products. Meanwhile, the European politicians who preached solidarity with the American consumer under Trump now stay silent or justify the measure as necessary for "ecological resilience."

Toward a trade war with China?

The EU has already imposed a 30% tariff on Chinese electric cars, and the new fee on small shipments only tightens the rope. Beijing has historically responded with retaliation against European agricultural and tech products. If the trend consolidates, European consumers will pay more for almost everything, and the hypocrisy of the official narrative will be laid bare. The question hanging in the air is simple: if tariffs were always bad, why are they good now just because Brussels imposes them?