Belgian Airport Gets Many Packages from China
Belgian Airport Gets Many Packages from China
Introduction
The airport in Liege, Belgium gets over 4 million small packages from China every day. It has only 80 workers to check the packages. This is a big problem. New rules in the US and Europe change where packages go.
Main Body
The Liege airport is near the Netherlands, Germany, and France. It helps big online shops like Amazon, Shein, Temu, and Alibaba. In 2025, US President Trump made a new rule. Before, small packages under $800 could enter the US without tax. Now they cannot. So many packages go to Europe, especially Liege. Italy and France also started fees for small packages. So shippers send packages to Belgium to avoid those fees. This makes more work for Liege customs. The EU wants to add a fee of €2 per package and €3 for packages under €150. China says this is not fair. But the biggest problem is not the number of packages. It is that many packages do not follow European rules. 30% of checked packages break the rules. For some things like cosmetics, 100% break the rules. Many packages have wrong prices. Belgian customs gives fines quickly because they cannot check everything.
Conclusion
US rule changes, European fees, and new EU rules make a big problem at Liege airport. The main problem is that Chinese products must follow European rules before they arrive. China and the EU need to work together to fix this.
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Belgian Airport Faces Parcel Influx from China Amid EU Regulatory and Quality Concerns
Introduction
The freight airport in Liege, Belgium, is receiving over four million small parcels from China daily, a volume that has strained its customs inspection capacity. With only 80 staff members, the facility is grappling with both quantitative and qualitative challenges, as European and national policy changes redirect trade flows and raise compliance issues.
Main Body
The Liege airport, strategically located near the Netherlands, Germany, and France, was originally developed to serve major e-commerce platforms including Amazon, Shein, Temu, and Alibaba. According to Kristian Vanderwaeren, Belgium’s top customs official, the volume of small parcels from China has increased substantially following the return of US President Donald Trump to office in January 2025. An executive order signed on February 1, 2025, eliminated the de minimis exemption that had allowed Chinese packages valued under US$800 to enter the United States duty-free. This policy shift diverted a significant portion of Chinese e-commerce shipments to European entry points, particularly Liege. Further exacerbating the situation, Italy and France introduced their own handling fees for small parcels earlier this year. Vanderwaeren noted that these national charges prompted shippers to redirect parcels to Belgium to avoid the additional costs, thereby increasing the burden on Liege’s customs team. In response to similar complaints from multiple member states, the European Union has proposed a bloc-wide handling fee of €2 (US$2.36) and a flat-rate fee of €3 per small parcel valued below €150, to be implemented later this year. The Chinese government has characterized these proposed measures as unfair. While the proposed EU fees have generated diplomatic friction between Brussels and Beijing, Vanderwaeren emphasized that the primary issue is not the sheer quantity of parcels but their compliance with European standards. He reported that 30% of inspected small parcels violate EU regulations, and for certain product categories—such as cosmetics—the infringement rate reaches 100%. Many shipments, he stated, contain goods that do not meet European safety or quality requirements, and their declared values are frequently inaccurate. Belgian customs authorities have responded by issuing fines expeditiously, reflecting their limited capacity to conduct thorough inspections on such a large scale.
Conclusion
The confluence of US trade policy changes, national European fees, and EU-wide regulatory proposals has created a logistical and compliance bottleneck at Liege airport. The core challenge, according to Belgian customs, lies in ensuring that Chinese products adhere to European standards before arrival, a matter that requires bilateral cooperation between China and the EU to address both the volume and the quality of incoming parcels.
Vocabulary Learning
Sentence Learning
Belgian Airport Faces Parcel Influx from China Amid EU Regulatory and Quality Concerns
Introduction
The freight airport in Liege, Belgium, is receiving over four million small parcels from China daily, a volume that has strained its customs inspection capacity. With only 80 staff members, the facility is grappling with both quantitative and qualitative challenges, as European and national policy changes redirect trade flows and raise compliance issues.
Main Body
The Liege airport, strategically located near the Netherlands, Germany, and France, was originally developed to serve major e-commerce platforms including Amazon, Shein, Temu, and Alibaba. According to Kristian Vanderwaeren, Belgium’s top customs official, the volume of small parcels from China has increased substantially following the return of US President Donald Trump to office in January 2025. An executive order signed on February 1, 2025, eliminated the de minimis exemption that had allowed Chinese packages valued under US$800 to enter the United States duty-free. This policy shift diverted a significant portion of Chinese e-commerce shipments to European entry points, particularly Liege. Further exacerbating the situation, Italy and France introduced their own handling fees for small parcels earlier this year. Vanderwaeren noted that these national charges prompted shippers to redirect parcels to Belgium to avoid the additional costs, thereby increasing the burden on Liege’s customs team. In response to similar complaints from multiple member states, the European Union has proposed a bloc-wide handling fee of €2 (US$2.36) and a flat-rate fee of €3 per small parcel valued below €150, to be implemented later this year. The Chinese government has characterized these proposed measures as unfair. While the proposed EU fees have generated diplomatic friction between Brussels and Beijing, Vanderwaeren emphasized that the primary issue is not the sheer quantity of parcels but their compliance with European standards. He reported that 30% of inspected small parcels violate EU regulations, and for certain product categories—such as cosmetics—the infringement rate reaches 100%. Many shipments, he stated, contain goods that do not meet European safety or quality requirements, and their declared values are frequently inaccurate. Belgian customs authorities have responded by issuing fines expeditiously, reflecting their limited capacity to conduct thorough inspections on such a large scale.
Conclusion
The confluence of US trade policy changes, national European fees, and EU-wide regulatory proposals has created a logistical and compliance bottleneck at Liege airport. The core challenge, according to Belgian customs, lies in ensuring that Chinese products adhere to European standards before arrival, a matter that requires bilateral cooperation between China and the EU to address both the volume and the quality of incoming parcels.