Tudor Manea, CEO of eMAG, says that a new tax on parcels ordered from China will not be enough to solve the unequal competition between Romanian retailers and platforms like Temu and Shein.
“It’s a tough competition. It would be fair if we all played by the same rules. That tax is a step toward levelling the playing field, but it won’t fix everything. Temu has eight employees in Europe. We have 9,000,” Manea told reporters.
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Romania’s Finance Ministry has proposed a 25 RON tax on parcels worth up to €150 from outside the EU, mainly targeting Chinese platforms, but its implementation has been delayed.
“Our game is on the field. We’ll be number one in five years because we know Romanian consumers best and have a strong base of clients and sellers,” Manea added.
Online retailers call for stricter enforcement
The Romanian Online Stores Association (ARMO) warned that the tax alone is insufficient, as non-EU platforms often violate EU consumer, GDPR, and product safety rules, and avoid the mandatory two-year warranty required in Europe.
“The tax must apply to all parcels under €150 from non-EU platforms, no matter whether they land in Budapest or Oradea,” ARMO said.
225,000 low-value parcels enter Romania daily
According to Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare, imports of small parcels under €150 have surged to 225,000 per day, affecting around 40,000 Romanian online entrepreneurs. Nazare invited Asian platforms to open logistics hubs in Romania, which would exempt them from the tax and support local business integration.
Photo: Wall-Street
