DHL, FedEx (NYSE:FDX) and UPS (NYSE:UPS) have written to European Union finance ministers urging a phased approach to the new duty regulations for low-value packages, arguing that a rushed, full implementation risks significant supply chain disruption and could affect the availability of certain medical supplies.
The new regulations target the surge in inexpensive e-commerce imports, particularly from Chinese online retailers such as Shein and Temu. In a letter dated Friday, the three logistics providers proposed an immediate implementation of a simplified measure - a €3 flat-rate duty to be introduced from July 1 - while asking that more complicated and currently unresolved components of the rules be postponed.
According to the companies, the regulations introduce new data requirements and other changes that have increased operational complexity. They contend these modifications cannot be put into effect reasonably by the July 1 deadline. As a result, the carriers recommended delaying the parts of the regime that are not legally certain and that are not yet operationally feasible.
Executives who signed the letter - Mike Parra, CEO of DHL Express Europe; Wouter Roels, president of FedEx Europe; and Daniel Carrera, president of UPS EMEA - said they expect a real risk that shipments could be delayed at EU borders in the absence of a stable and workable legal framework. Their message framed the phased rollout as a way to reduce the chance of border delays and to help maintain access to items the carriers identified as potentially sensitive, including some medical supplies.
The letter frames the proposed staging as a pragmatic compromise: introduce a straightforward flat fee on July 1 to address immediate policy goals, while buying time to resolve technical and legal questions tied to the more intricate aspects of the regulation. The carriers emphasized that operational readiness and legal certainty are prerequisites to implementing the full set of new data and procedural requirements without causing widespread disruption.
The firms' appeal places logistics operators, healthcare supply chains and cross-border e-commerce flows at the center of the debate over how quickly member states should apply the new duties. The companies made clear they view a stepped approach as necessary to avoid unintended consequences at EU entry points.
Length note: This article reports the contents and requests contained in the companies' letter dated Friday and the operational concerns they expressed regarding the July 1 deadline and the new data requirements.