The number of products reaching European consumers directly via e-commerce platforms outside the European Union (EU) is growing at an explosive rate. To safeguard consumers from unsafe and unsustainable products, all parties in the production and distribution chain must take responsibility, requiring a collective approach.
This is the message from Dutch market regulators—the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT), the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), the Health and Youth Care Inspectorate (IGJ), the Radiocommunications Agency Netherlands (RDI), the Dutch Labour Inspectorate (Arbeidsinspectie), and Customs—to the Minister of Economic Affairs. This call is outlined in the report ‘E-commerce platforms outside the EU contributing to unsafe (market) products’, which has been submitted to Minister Beljaarts.
Over 1 billion packages annually
Each year, over 1 billion parcels enter the EU via the Netherlands, accounting for approximately 40% of the total e-commerce imports into the EU. Increasingly, manufacturers, particularly from Asia, are supplying their products directly to European consumers and businesses. Platforms such as SHEIN, Temu, AliExpress, and Alibaba are experiencing exponential growth in the number of products entering the EU.
More than 85% of products deemed unsafe
Research conducted by European market regulators reveals that 85% to 95% of products inspected from platforms like SHEIN, AliExpress, and Temu fail to comply with EU product legislation. These products are often ineffective, pose risks to consumers, or do not function as intended. For instance, toys with detachable parts may present choking hazards for small children, while electronic devices may overheat, causing fires or interference with other appliances. Many products from Asia also contain prohibited substances, such as lead.
EU product regulations
European regulations require all products placed on the market to be proven effective, safe, and sustainable, without posing health risks. Furthermore, a representative must be based in Europe to ensure compliance with EU standards. European legislation creates a level playing field by requiring all players in the supply chain—manufacturers, importers, and distributors—to contribute to and ensure product compliance. Dutch regulators ILT, NVWA, IGJ, RDI, and the Labour Inspectorate, in collaboration with Customs, oversee compliance with these regulations in the Netherlands.
Consumer and environmental protection under pressure
The poor compliance with EU product regulations, combined with the growing direct delivery of products primarily from Asia, is leading to an influx of unsafe, unhealthy, non-functional, and unsustainable products in the Netherlands. This undermines the protection of consumers, the environment, public health, sustainability, and safety. It also fosters unfair competition against companies that do comply with the rules. Consumer organisations active in the e-commerce sector have also expressed serious concerns about this issue.
Shared responsibility needed
The explosive increase in direct delivery of e-commerce products has made it impossible for Dutch regulators and Customs to effectively and efficiently inspect all these items at the border. Instead of sampling from large shipments, regulators would need to inspect each individual package—an unfeasible task, even with increased or enhanced supervision by ILT, NVWA, IGJ, RDI, and the Labour Inspectorate.
For this reason, Dutch regulators and Customs are advocating for a collective approach where all stakeholders in the chain—production, trade, and transport of e-commerce products from outside the EU—along with governments and consumers, take responsibility. Only in this way can consumers and users be protected from non-functional, unsafe, unhealthy, and unsustainable products, while ensuring a level playing field for businesses. The regulators and Customs look forward to discussing these matters further with Minister Beljaarts.
This press release is received and translated. No responsibility is taken for the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the content.
