Logistics giants urge EU to phase in low-value package duty rules

By Matthias Inverardi

DUESSELDORF, ‌May 22 (Reuters) - ​DHL, ​FedEx and UPS urged European Union finance ministers to phase in new duty rules ‌on low-value packages on Friday, warning of supply ⁠chain bottlenecks and an impact on the availability of some ‌medical supplies.

The rules are ‌part of efforts to crack down on cheap Chinese e-commerce imports such as from online retailers Shein ​and Temu.

In a letter dated May 22 seen by Reuters, the three companies said the ⁠EU should proceed with a €3 flat-rate duty from July 1, but defer "more ​complex and unresolved elements until they are legally certain and operationally viable".

They wrote that ​the new data requirements and other ‌changes required by the new rules resulted in a level of complexity that ⁠cannot realistically be implemented by the July 1 deadline.

Mike Parra, CEO of DHL Express Europe, Wouter Roels, president ⁠of FedEx Europe, and Daniel Carrera, president of UPS EMEA, said ​in the letter they foresaw a "real risk" of shipments being held up at EU borders "without a stable and workable legal ‌framework".

"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," ​they wrote.

(Reporting by Matthias Inverardi, writing by Tom Sims, Editing by Louise Heavens and Alexander ‌Smith)

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