DHL, FedEx, and UPS have jointly urged EU finance ministers to delay the 1 July 2026 rollout of a €3 flat customs tax on low-value parcels, citing unworkable data requirements and high risk of border delays. The tax replaces the €150 de minimis exemption and adds a €2 processing fee in November. Early implementation in France caused a 92% drop in small-parcel declarations at CDG and loss of 50 freighter flights in one week. Rotate data shows Asia–Europe freighter traffic up 28% YoY. FedEx is investing €46m in the Netherlands; DHL’s USPS contract exceeds $10bn.
According to theloadstar.com, DHL Express Europe, FedEx Europe, and UPS EMEA have jointly written to European Union finance ministers urging a phased implementation of the bloc’s new customs regime for low-value parcels — set to take effect on 1 July 2026.
€3 Flat Tax and €2 Processing Fee Set for Summer Rollout
The EU’s reform abolishes the longstanding de minimis exemption — which currently waives customs duties and VAT for parcels valued under €150 — and replaces it with a flat-rate customs tax of €3 per item for all parcels shipped from non-EU countries. A second charge, a €2 processing fee, is scheduled for introduction later in 2026, likely in November. The policy targets impulse purchases of ultra-low-cost goods, especially fast-fashion items sold on Chinese e-commerce platforms including Shein, Temu, and AliExpress.
Integrators Cite Legal and Operational Uncertainty
In their letter, signed by Mike Parra, CEO of DHL Express Europe; Wouter Roels, president of FedEx Europe; and Daniel Carrera, president of UPS EMEA, the carriers acknowledged the EU’s policy intent but stressed that “more complex and unresolved elements” must be deferred until they are “legally certain and operationally viable.” These include new data submission requirements mandated under the revised rules — which the companies assert cannot be implemented reliably by the 1 July deadline.
Border Disruptions Could Affect Medical Supplies, Industry Output
The trio warned that without a stable legal framework, there is a “real risk” of shipment delays at EU borders. As stated in the letter:
“Such disruption could affect medical supply availability, delay industrial production, and create bottlenecks across European supply chains – all risks that are particularly significant in the current geopolitical context.”
The European Union has not issued a public response to the request as of 29 May 2026, the date of the report.
Early Implementation in France and Italy Reveals Systemic Strain
France advanced the €2 parcel tax to 1 March 2026, triggering immediate operational fallout. By 3 March, customs declarations for small parcels at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) had plummeted by 92%. Freight forwarders rerouted parcels through competing hubs in Liège, Schiphol, and Frankfurt, with CDG estimated to lose 50 freighter flights in its first week post-implementation. Similarly, Italy introduced the levy early and subsequently announced a temporary postponement after experiencing parallel disruptions. France’s director-general of Customs, Florian Colas, told the National Assembly’s Economic Affairs Committee this month: “We have gone from approximately 500,000 [small parcel] declarations a day to around 50,000 today.”
Air Cargo Shifts and Fleet Economics Under Pressure
Henk Venema, EVP global airfreight at DHL Global Forwarding, noted at a spring webinar that cross-border e-commerce from China and Hong Kong now occupies a “large amount of freighter capacity.” According to Rotate, Asia–Europe freighter traffic is 28% higher year-on-year in 2026, while transpacific volumes rose only 1% and global capacity increased just 4%. Venema added that if EU e-commerce volumes collapse sharply, many older freighters — particularly B747-400F models — may exit service due to uneconomical jet fuel costs. He also flagged AI infrastructure shipments as “probably the biggest growth engine of air freight overall in 2026 and beyond.”
Parallel Investments Signal Confidence in Long-Term Demand
Despite regulatory headwinds, major integrators are expanding infrastructure. FedEx announced a €46 million investment to expand its Duiven road hub in the Netherlands, boosting palletised freight capacity by more than 50%. Separately, DHL eCommerce inked an exclusive multi-year contract with the United States Postal Service (USPS) valued at well over $10 billion for last-mile delivery in the U.S. These moves reflect sustained expectations for cross-border trade volume growth, even amid tightening EU import controls.
Source: The Loadstar
Compiled from international media by the SCI.AI editorial team.
