Labour MEP and Deputy Leader Alex Agius Saliba has criticised the EU's new ‘Temu tax’, warning that it has created an unfair system in which Maltese consumers are paying double the charges faced by shoppers in mainland Europe.
The new tax has essentially scrapped an exemption that allowed parcels worth less than €150 to enter the EU tax-free, which means that consumers must now pay a €3 customs tax per ‘category’ of item.
However, as PN MEP Peter Agius has pointed out, there are several grey areas as to whether certain items fit into the same category or not, and platforms are erring on the side of caution.
Now Dr Agius Saliba warned that the platforms have found a way to deviate from this tax by opening distribution centres in mainland Europe.
However, since shipping costs still apply for distribution to Malta, Maltese consumers must now pay significantly more for the same items than mainland Europeans.
“Over the past week and a half, we carried out a series of tests by ordering identical products at the same time to Malta, Italy and Germany. We found that having those same items delivered to Malta cost twice as much, if not more.”
Dr Agius Saliba warned that this “discrimination” against Maltese consumers defeats the very purpose of the EU single market.
“The best element of a single market should be that the market is open and equal, and that consumers have more choices, but this isn’t happening,” he said.
“Thanks to the EU’s own rules, the single market is now directly discriminating against small island states.”
Dr Agius Saliba has written to European Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič to demand an immediate remedy for Maltese consumers.
