Brussels’ move against lightly taxed low-value e-commerce imports may not reverse Bangladesh’s export slowdown on its own, but it could reduce one competitive distortion that has weighed on mainstream apparel sourcing.
Bangladesh’s garment sector is facing a tougher export climate, and the usual explanations—weak European demand, squeezed household budgets and geopolitical uncertainty—still apply. But there is a second pressure worth taking more seriously: the rapid growth of direct-to-consumer cross-border parcel flows led by platforms such as Shein and Temu. In the first eight months of FY2025-26, Bangladesh’s ready-made garment exports fell 3.73% year on year to $25.79 billion, while exports to the EU, its largest apparel market, also softened.
The parcel economy is now too large to ignore
The broader EU data strengthens the case. The European Commission’s customs reform proposal said 4.6 billion low-value items entered the EU in 2024 and that 91% of e-commerce shipments valued up to €150 came from China. By 2025, the volume had risen further to about 5.8 billion parcels, according to Reuters’ reporting on the EU debate. That does not prove a one-for-one displacement of Bangladesh-made apparel, but it does show that part of Europe’s low-cost clothing demand is increasingly being served through fragmented parcel imports rather than conventional bulk retail sourcing.
Why Bangladesh should welcome Brussels’ response
The EU has now moved beyond proposal stage on the interim parcel duty. The Council gave final green light on February 11, 2026, meaning that from July 1, 2026, small consignments valued below €150 will face an interim flat-rate customs duty of €3 per item category until July 1, 2028, after which the wider customs reform architecture is expected to take over. The Council explicitly said the existing regime created unfair competition for EU sellers.
The limits of the opportunity
This matters for Bangladesh because the EU remains central to its export model. The European Commission says textiles accounted for almost 94% of EU imports from Bangladesh in 2024. A tighter customs framework should improve relative conditions for compliant, large-scale sourcing hubs such as Bangladesh. But it will not solve productivity gaps, lead-time pressure, margin compression or Bangladesh’s looming post-LDC trade adjustment. It is a positive policy shift, not a full export recovery plan.
