The EU's duty-free loophole for cheap imports ends Wednesday. Here's what changes.

The EU's duty-free loophole for cheap imports ends this Wednesday. A flat €3 customs charge per item type hits every parcel from outside the EU. It's Saturday, 27 June. Twenty-eight degrees. Rod Stewart plays Rock in Rio tonight. Portugal play Colombia at midnight. Here's what you need to know.

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THE EU WANTS TO TAX YOUR SHEIN AND TEMU ORDERS. THE NEW RULES START WEDNESDAY.

If you've been ordering clothes, homeware, or phone accessories from Shein, Temu, or AliExpress and enjoying the fact that parcels under €150 arrive without customs charges, that arrangement ends on Wednesday.

Council Regulation EU 2026/382, adopted in February and taking effect on July 1, eliminates the €150 duty-free threshold for low-value imports from non-EU countries. Under current rules, while you already pay VAT at checkout (that exemption was removed back in 2021), packages valued below €150 avoid customs duties entirely. Ultra-cheap online marketplaces built their European business model around this exemption, shipping billions of individual parcels priced just below the threshold. 4.6 billion parcels valued under €150 entered the EU in 2024. Over 91% came from China.

Starting Wednesday, that loophole closes. Because processing standard tariffs for billions of individual parcels would overwhelm customs systems, the EU is implementing an interim measure: a flat €3 customs duty per item type on every parcel. The charge is applied by tariff classification, not by parcel. If you order three identical t-shirts in one package, that's one item type: €3. If you order a t-shirt and a pair of shoes, that's two item types: €6. A mixed basket of clothes, electronics, and homeware attracts multiple €3 charges.

The measure is temporary, running until July 2028 when the EU Customs Data Hub launches and standard variable duties replace the flat fee. A separate €2 handling fee per consignment is also expected later this year.

The rationale is twofold. European retailers have argued for years that the threshold gives Chinese platforms an unfair advantage, allowing them to undercut domestic brands that pay full EU duties on their supply chains. And customs authorities have flagged widespread abuse: packages deliberately undervalued or split into multiple shipments to stay below the threshold.

Shein and Temu read the regulation early. Both have been shifting inventory into EU-based warehouses for months, converting millions of individual cross-border customs events into bulk commercial imports. Orders fulfilled from within the EU won't attract the per-item charge. The platforms are adapting. Whether they pass the savings on to consumers or pocket the margin is another question.

For consumers in Portugal, the impact is immediate. If you buy a €15 dress from Shein shipped from China, the flat €3 duty adds 20% to the cost. The era of frictionless cheap imports is over. Whether that makes European retail more competitive or simply makes everything more expensive depends on what happens next.

Bottom line: The duty-free loophole for cheap imports from China ends on Wednesday. If you've been meaning to place that Shein order, do it this weekend.

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Rising housing costs are forcing Portuguese households to cut spending on food, healthcare, and leisure. The squeeze is no longer theoretical. With the average home costing €100,000 more than a decade ago and rents consuming 99% of net salary in Lisbon, families are making trade-offs that show up in the grocery basket, the cancelled medical appointments, and the weekends spent at home instead of out. The cost of housing is now the cost of everything else.

Comboios de Portugal (CP), the national rail operator, more than doubled its profit in 2025, reaching €4.9 million. The trains that were shut during the June 3 general strike, that run late on the Sintra line, and that break down often enough to be a meme, are now profitable. Whether that profit gets reinvested into service improvements or absorbed by the balance sheet is the question commuters are asking.

Parents in Vila Real padlocked a school gate to protest the heat. At the Douro School Centre, parents shut the main entrance during a week of extreme temperatures, with classrooms exceeding 30°C and children fainting. The Guarda Nacional Republicana had to be called to open a secondary gate so classes could proceed. The heatwave may be passing, but parents are demanding a structural solution before the next academic year.

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🍽️ SPOT OF THE DAY

UNDERDOGS GALLERY (MARVILA)

Its the weekend but before the match tonight and the noise go to Marvila and look at some art.

Underdogs Gallery sits in a converted warehouse on Rua Fernando Palha in the Braço de Prata district, the industrial stretch of eastern Lisbon that has quietly become the city's creative heart. The gallery was founded in 2010 by Vhils (Alexandre Farto), the Portuguese street artist whose carved-wall portraits have appeared on buildings from Lisbon to Shanghai. What started as a warehouse project has become one of Europe's most respected platforms for urban-inspired contemporary art.

The current exhibition, "Something to Believe In" by New York-based duo FAILE, closes today. This is the last day to see it.

The gallery's programme rotates Portuguese and international artists connected to the urban art universe: AddFuel (Diogo Machado), Tamara Alves, MaisMenos, Wasted Rita, and Vhils himself. The exhibitions inside the warehouse are matched by the murals outside it. The walls of the building and the surrounding streets are an open-air gallery that changes with each new residency. Walking from Braço de Prata station to the gallery entrance is itself a tour of some of the best street art in the city.

The space is industrial and deliberately unpolished. High ceilings, concrete floors, and the kind of light that comes from windows designed for factory workers, not gallery visitors. Entry is typically free. Prints, editions, and books are available at the gallery shop on site.

The gallery is in Marvila, which means a deliberate trip. Take the train to Braço de Prata, the 728 or 781 bus, or a taxi. The gallery sometimes closes without updating Google, so check their Instagram (@underdogs_gallery) before making the journey. Some visitors have noted that staff can be indifferent when the room is quiet but the art is the reason to go.

→ Vhils's gallery. Converted warehouse. Last day of the FAILE exhibition. Find them here ←

Marvila, on Rua Fernando Palha, Armazém 56. Walk from Braço de Prata station.

Insider tip: Go at 2pm when the gallery opens. Spend an hour inside. Walk the surrounding streets and look at the murals. Then walk 10 minutes to Dois Corvos or Musa for a craft beer. Most of Lisbon doesn't know this corner of the city exists. Their loss.

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See you tomorrow morning.