EU parcel levy cuts e-commerce traffic at Liège Airport

The European Union’s new €3 customs duty on low-value e-commerce shipments has sharply reduced parcel volumes at Liège Airport, a major European entry point for goods from China. Belgian customs recorded a 53 percent year-on-year decline in the number of small parcels arriving at the airport in July 2026. That was the first month after the levy took effect.

Liège Airport is one of the continent’s principal hubs for cross-border e-commerce, particularly for packages originating in China. The duty targets imports valued below a threshold that previously allowed them to enter without customs charges. Its introduction appears to have had an immediate impact on traffic.

The customs data show the scale of the change. A fall of more than half in a single month points to a significant shift in how online retailers route their goods into Europe. Some may be using alternative entry points or consolidating shipments to reduce the per-parcel cost of the new duty.

The airport has not yet publicly commented on the figures. E-commerce logistics operators that use Liège as a sorting and distribution centre face higher costs per package. Those costs are typically passed on to consumers or absorbed by sellers. It remains to be seen whether the July decline represents a one-off adjustment or a longer-term change in trade patterns.