On 1 July 2026, the European Union introduced a €3 per-item customs duty on all cross-border eCommerce goods valued under €150 — affecting approximately 93% of all EU imports from non-EU sellers.
Whether you are based in the US, UK, Canada, Australia or elsewhere, if you are shipping products to customers in the EU, this new duty will apply to every order you dispatch. For many retailers, that means thousands — or tens of thousands — of euros in new costs every single month.
Eurobase offers a simple, proven solution: store your inventory inside the EU, ship from our Irish facility, and the €3 duty does not apply — on a single order.
| Effective Date | 1 July 2026 |
| Charge | €3 per item, determined by HS tariff classification |
| Scope | All goods under €150 shipped from outside the EU |
| Coverage | ~93% of all cross-border eCommerce imports into the EU |
| Duration | Temporary until 2028, when standard EU tariffs apply (likely higher) |
| Extra Costs | France, Italy and Romania are also adding separate €2 per-item national handling fees |
Consider a retailer dispatching 1,000 orders per month with an average of three items per order:
| Scenario | Monthly Cost | Annual Impact |
| Shipping direct from outside EU (1,000 orders, avg. 3 items) | €9,000 in duties | €108,000 in duties |
| Fulfillment via Eurobase EU warehouse | €0 in duties | €108,000 saved |
This is not a one-off cost — it is a permanent structural change to your EU fulfillment economics. Businesses that continue to ship directly from outside the EU now face this burden on every single order, indefinitely.
01EU Location — Duty EliminatedGoods stored and shipped from our Irish facility carry no cross-border customs exposure. The €3 duty is wholly avoided, creating immediate, quantifiable savings on every order dispatched. |
02English as the Business LanguageUnlike most continental European providers, Eurobase operates entirely in English. Onboarding, support, documentation and communication are seamless — no translation layers, no misunderstandings. |
03Euro-Denominated EconomyOperating within the Eurozone creates natural currency alignment with your EU customers. Pricing, invoicing and financial planning are simplified, and FX risk is substantially reduced. |
04Ireland’s Tax EnvironmentIreland’s 12.5% corporate tax rate on trading income is among the most competitive in the EU — a well-understood structural advantage for international eCommerce operations establishing a European presence. |
The 1 July 2026 effective date provides a defined, limited window to establish EU-based fulfillment, onboard inventory, and ensure your operations are fully structured ahead of implementation.
Businesses that move early will enter the new regime with a durable cost advantage over competitors who continue to ship from outside the EU. Those who wait will absorb the full duty cost — and face the operational disruption of a mid-trading transition.
The steps to get started are straightforward: