French legislation aims to curb Asian e-commerce platforms. Fast fashion items must be charged by the piece

(Paris News) The French parliament has passed legislation to curb the development of fast fashion, imposing a per-unit tax on mass-produced textiles and banning super-fast fashion brands from advertising and promotion. This legislation mainly targets Asian e-commerce platforms such as the overseas platform Temu of Pinduoduo, Shein, and AliExpress of Alibaba.

The French parliament passed a bill on Monday (June 29th) focusing on imposing fees on mass-produced textiles on a per-piece basis. The specific fees are determined based on two criteria: the quantity of clothing put on the market, and the ratio of repair costs to the purchase price. The latter criterion reflects the quality of the clothing production. If the selling price is much lower than the repair cost, it will also be classified as ultra-fast fashion.

This charge will be gradually increased. By 2030, the maximum charge for each item of goods will reach up to 20 euros, but it will not exceed 50% of the pre-tax price of the goods. A portion of these charges will be used to support the infrastructure for recycling and reusing clothing.

According to the new regulations, ultra-fast fashion enterprises, which are those that sell large quantities of low-quality clothing at extremely low prices, are also prohibited from advertising, including through social media influencers. These enterprises must also, on their websites, call on customers to consume moderately, including reusing and repairing clothes for continued use.

This bill aims to curb the environmental pollution caused by the fast fashion industry, and also to restrain the Chinese e-commerce giants that have flooded the European market with low-priced goods.

Because the bill treated European and French domestic enterprises like Zara and Kiabi differently, some left-wing members of the French parliament abstained from voting. The European Commission also questioned whether the provisions regarding advertising in the bill were in line with EU laws.

Starting from July, a tariff will be imposed on small packages.

Meanwhile, the EU will impose a uniform 3-euro tariff on packages valued at less than 150 euros from Wednesday (July 1st). This move is aimed at curbing the import of cheap Chinese goods and preventing the "desertification" of European commercial streets.

EU officials said that the number of small packages entering the EU has increased by more than three times in recent years, rising from 1.3 billion in 2022 to 5.9 billion in 2025. Approximately 90% of these packages originated from China.

Last year, European consumer groups warned that the influx of cheap goods from Temu, Huiyin and other third-country e-commerce platforms had threatened the European economy and forced many businesses to go bankrupt.

The survey results released by the EU on Monday show that 60% of the online shopping goods imported from outside the EU do not comply with EU regulations and may pose safety risks. Among them, the safety of cosmetics and toys is the most concerning, with the non-compliance rate reaching 65%. Food supplements, as well as personal protective equipment such as safety helmets and reinforced shoes, are also high-risk goods.

Last month, Temu was fined 200 million euros by the EU regulatory authorities for failing to prevent the sale of illegal and dangerous products.

The EU aims to create a fairer competitive environment for European small businesses and retailers by eliminating the tax exemption for small packages. This might also serve as a deterrent for non-EU retailers, as they will be forced to fill out complex customs declaration forms for all packages. The countries also hope that this move will prompt consumers to think twice before making purchases, especially when buying cheap items.