Turkey is seeking to protect its exporters from a new European Union customs charge on small online orders, arguing that goods covered by Turkey’s customs union with the bloc should not be treated the same as products shipped from other countries outside the EU, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat announced on Thursday.
The EU on Wednesday started applying a temporary €3 duty on many online shopping items worth €150 or less that are shipped into the bloc from outside the EU.
The measure ends a duty exemption that had allowed many small packages to enter the EU without customs duties, a system Brussels says gave foreign online sellers an advantage over European businesses.
The new charge applies per customs category rather than per package.
That means a package containing several T-shirts would face one €3 charge, while a package containing a T-shirt and a watch would face €6 because the products fall under different customs categories.
The EU says the measure is meant to respond to the growth of small online orders from outside the bloc, including from Chinese online platforms such as Shein, Temu and AliExpress, and to address customs fraud, product safety risks and competition concerns.
The European Commission says almost 5.9 billion low-value items were shipped directly from countries outside the EU to consumers in the bloc in 2025.
EU investigations in 2025 also found that more than 60 percent of tested products in categories including cosmetics, toys, electronics, food supplements and protective equipment failed to meet EU standards.
The €3 duty is scheduled to remain in force until July 1, 2028, when the EU Customs Data Hub is expected to begin operating for online commerce shipments.
After that date, the EU plans to move to normal customs duties based on the type of product.
Bolat said Turkey had held talks with the European Commission from the start of the EU preparations to preserve the rights Turkish exporters have under the customs union.
Turkey and the EU have had a customs union since 1995.
The arrangement covers industrial goods and processed agricultural products but not raw agricultural products, coal, steel, services or public procurement.
Goods covered by the customs union can move between Turkey and the EU without customs duties if they are in free circulation and have the required customs document.
Bolat said the European Commission had informed Ankara that products in free circulation in Turkey and shipped to the EU with an A.TR document can continue to benefit from preferential treatment if they are declared through the H1 customs declaration.
That means Turkish exporters can still use the customs union protection, but they may need a fuller customs declaration rather than the lighter declaration used for many small online shipments.
Bolat called the EU position an important gain for preserving the customs union in online commerce.
He said Turkey wants the system to work in a way that does not impose new burdens on Turkish online exporters and is applied in a practical and uniform way across the EU.
He also said Ankara was seeking an exemption from a separate handling fee that the EU is discussing for a later stage.
The European Commission says the proposed handling fee is different from the €3 customs duty and is meant to cover customs processing costs.
Bolat argued that Turkey should be exempt because of its customs union ties with the EU and its level of alignment with EU product safety and customs rules.
The issue comes as Turkey has long urged the EU to update the customs union, which Ankara says no longer reflects current trade patterns.
Turkey’s EU accession talks have been stalled for years over disputes including rule of law, human rights and democratic backsliding, but trade remains one of the main areas of cooperation between the two sides.