PARIS, France — A federation of European textile associations called Tuesday for an import fee of 10 euros ($11.60) on fashion imports, the latest effort to stem the flood of ultra-cheap competition mainly from China.

 

The plea by Euratex came after the EU imposed in July a three-euro duty on cheap parcels entering the bloc, alleging a financial burden for customs agencies.

 

It also followed a lacklustre stock debut for Chinese ultrafast-fashion giant Shein, whose fortunes have been hit by the new EU charge as well as a similar clampdown in the United States, two key markets.

 

Separately, France began Tuesday imposing a levy on ultrafast-fashion items that will eventually reach almost 20 euros per garment.

 

Euratex president Mario Jorge Machado welcomed the EU fee at an industry conference in Paris but said "we cannot stop there".

 

The group said in a statement that a 10-euro "handling fee" should provide customs authorities with "resources to identify unsafe and non-compliant goods".

 

It also warned against allowing loopholes to the tax such as bulk imports or European warehouses to ensure "a level playing field" for a European industry that includes some 200,000 companies employing 1.3 million people.

 

China has warned of potential retaliation to the fees.

 

Shein's European customer base rose to 156 million average monthly users by the end of 2025, making it one of the continent's biggest e-commerce platforms, alongside AliExpress and US titan Amazon, which had 193 million and around 180 million users respectively.