The Belgian government has plans for a pack of two euros on international (especially Chinese) packages that enter Belgium. It is a positive signal for the Belgian e-commerce Federation Becom, albeit with the necessary reservation.
Becom points out that unreliable and unsafe packages from China are a European problem. If other countries do not set a similar charge, the measure threatens to miss its effect or to losing income.
This year, Belgian customs expect around 1.4 billion import suits in Bieret, with a potential of 2.8 billion euros in income. Becom argues for reinvesting part of the proceeds in infrastructure: scanning technology, digitally trained staff and a data tool for reliable data can help to better detect packages that violate European rules.
During consultation with a Chinese delegation, it appeared that only 13% of the 700,000 small Chinese production companies achieve the European standards. The delegation shows willingness to make European regulations better known, a possible step towards more equality in the trade.
According to Becom, this is a start for around 64,000 Belgian web shops. The Federation also supports measures at European level, such as the abolition of the value limit of 150 EUOOR, the ‘Deemed Importer’ responsibility and an EU Customs Data Hub.
