European Footwear Confederation urges EU to act now

European traders and industries are deeply concerned about the increase in small parcel imports. The 2028 introduction of the ‘deemed importer’ is said to be too late. The EU and member states are asked to establish, without further delay, a legal obligation for foreign operators to appoint an EU-based legally responsible person or entity for e-commerce imports. The extraordinary growth of e-commerce in recent years has led to an exponential number of small parcels of low-value goods entering the EU, each of which must be accompanied by an individual customs declaration following the entry into force of new VAT rules for e-commerce in 2021. In 2022, for example, almost 1 billion customs declarations were filed for low-value goods.

The sheer volume of e-commerce goods puts customs services under huge strain. Infringements such as VAT fraud, violation of EU health and safety standards, infringement of intellectual property rights and falsified declarations fuel unfair competition within the Single Market, putting companies that comply with high EU standards at a disadvantage. Such unfair trade practices, linked to small shipments, are corroding entire industrial value chains, eroding economic strength and resilience, and endangering the health of consumers. In this context, the EU’s plan, with the new Union Customs Code (UCC), to introduce the so-called ‘deemed importer’, i.e. platforms responsible for ensuring payment of customs duties and VAT at the time of purchase, as well as non-financial obligations, is welcomed. However, if the ‘deemed importer’ is only introduced in 2028, it will be too late. In the coming years, the pressure on industries, due to competition from non-compliant traders who do not take any responsibility for non-compliance, will increase to such an extent that it will become unsustainable, threatening the livelihood of even more traders, resulting in huge job losses.

The introduction of the obligation to appoint a legally responsible person or entity based in the European Union is long overdue. This obligation could be established much earlier than 2028 by a simple EU regulation, well before the introduction of the ‘deemed importer’ and other elements of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). Online markets and any legally responsible EU representative should be subject to clear and binding enforcement mechanisms to ensure that products placed on the EU market comply with the applicable EPR requirements (including packaging, WEEE, batteries and textiles), thus preventing free-riding and safeguarding a level playing field. These initiatives will only produce their full effects in the medium term.