News / Ecommerce sector ready to adapt to looming EU import reforms

Europe’s planned reforms for low-value ecommerce imports are unlikely to trigger the sharp disruption seen in the US after the removal of de minimis exemptions, delegates heard yesterday.

At TIACA’s Executive Summit in Warsaw they heard that e-tailers had repeatedly demonstrated an ability to adapt rapidly to regulatory change.

Atlas Air chief strategy and transformation officer Martin Drew said the industry had already weathered significant upheaval over the past year.

The removal of de minimis exemptions in the US resulted in a substantial overnight decline in low-value shipments from China, but platforms quickly redirected volumes and opened new markets.

“What was really impressive was the speed at how quickly those flows changed,” he said, citing Peru as an example where dedicated ecommerce traffic emerged within weeks.

The Loadstar’s Charlotte Goldstone, moderating the ecommerce panel, noted that attention was now turning to Europe, where proposed measures include a €3 customs duty on parcels valued below €150, with an additional handling fee. But Mr Drew said he did not expect the changes to cause the shock experienced in the US.

“I wouldn’t expect there to be a massive decline in volume,” he said, noting that companies have had more time to prepare and that compliance processes were already evolving.

Indeed, Craig Strickland, chief sales officer at BoxC, said technology providers and customs specialists had spent months adapting systems to accommodate the changes, building on lessons learned from the US market.

“There will definitely be a lot of rocky bumps,” he said. “But ecommerce will still continue to occur.”

The panel heard that supply chains had already adjusted to shifting trade policies, with manufacturing and sourcing activity moving across Asia in response to tariffs and changing market conditions. Europe, meanwhile, had seen strong growth in inbound ecommerce traffic from Asia.

For Amazon, customer expectations remain the primary driver of investment. Marisa Blasco Bayona, responsible for Amazon Air in Europe, said consumers continued to demand faster delivery and greater visibility throughout the supply chain.

“We have been seeing customers asking for more speed,” she said. “Two days is not enough now. It’s one-day or same-day.”

Looking ahead, panellists agreed that compliance, data quality and AI-driven visibility would become increasingly important as regulators tightened scrutiny of cross-border ecommerce.

But while the rules governing the sector may be changing, they said the underlying demand for online shopping showed little sign of slowing.