Keeping EU Companies, Jobs and Products Safe from Unfair Foreign Competition

What the resolution is about
The European Parliament says the EU needs stronger rules to stop unfair competition from non‑EU companies. Unfair competition can happen when foreign firms:

• sell goods at very low prices because of state subsidies or cheaper production costs (e.g., in China).
• use lower environmental, safety or labour standards.
• sell products that do not meet EU safety or quality rules.
• use online platforms that let them bypass EU regulations.

The result is that EU businesses—especially small and medium‑sized enterprises (SMEs)—lose sales, jobs are lost, and consumers may buy unsafe or counterfeit goods.

Why it matters

• Dumping & subsidies – foreign firms can undercut EU prices, hurting EU companies.
• Lower standards – products that ignore EU safety, environmental or labour rules can harm consumers and give unfair price advantages.
• E‑commerce growth – cheap online imports flood the market, many of which are non‑compliant. Customs and market‑surveillance authorities are overwhelmed.
• Regulatory gaps – EU rules are not always applied to online sellers, creating an uneven playing field.
• Consumer risk – unlabelled or mislabelled products can be unsafe, especially for children and vulnerable buyers.
• Agricultural competition – EU farmers face imports that lack the same environmental or health safeguards, threatening rural jobs and food security.

What the Parliament wants to achieve

1. Protect EU jobs and businesses, especially SMEs that follow EU rules.
2. Level the playing field so foreign sellers face the same rules as EU sellers.
3. Improve consumer safety and information.
4. Strengthen enforcement by giving customs, market‑surveillance and competition authorities more power and resources.
5. Use trade‑defence tools such as anti‑dumping and anti‑subsidy measures.
6. Reform customs to close loopholes that let low‑value parcels slip through unchecked.
7. Promote digital tools like the Digital Product Passport (DPP) to track product compliance.
8. Support EU industry through funding, innovation programmes and skills development.
9. Help consumers by creating an EU‑wide complaint platform and better redress mechanisms.

Key recommendations

• Unfair competition – use trade‑defence instruments quickly and support small producers who complain.
• E‑commerce – require online platforms to verify seller identity, provide CE‑marking and origin information, and cooperate with authorities.
• Product safety – enforce CE‑marking, define “manufacturer” and “importer” clearly, and remove non‑compliant goods fast.
• Customs – remove the €150 duty exemption, introduce small handling fees, and use AI/blockchain to spot high‑risk shipments.
• Digital Product Passport – adopt the DPP for key product groups (textiles, footwear, electronics, cosmetics, children’s products).
• Consumer information – make country‑of‑origin labelling mandatory for non‑food goods and create an EU‑wide complaint portal.
• Support for SMEs – reduce administrative burdens, speed up clearance for compliant EU goods, and provide targeted funding for affected sectors.
• Enforcement – increase staff, training and tools for customs and market‑surveillance authorities; coordinate sanctions across Member States.
• Agriculture – strengthen traceability and safety checks for imported agricultural products.
• Public awareness – run EU‑wide campaigns that highlight the safety, sustainability and social benefits of EU‑made products.

What will happen next

• The resolution will be sent to the European Commission, the Council and national governments.
• The Commission is expected to act on the recommendations, especially by tightening customs rules, speeding up the DPP, improving enforcement tools, and supporting SMEs and consumers.

Bottom line

The Parliament calls for a stronger, fairer and safer EU market. It wants to stop foreign companies from undercutting EU firms with cheap, low‑standard products—especially through online sales—and to give consumers reliable information and protection. The resolution urges the EU to use trade‑defence tools, improve customs and market‑surveillance, and support EU businesses and workers hurt by unfair competition.

Broader context

This resolution comes at a time of rising global trade tensions. The EU has watched as cheap goods — especially from China — have flooded European and global markets, often backed by heavy government subsidies. Similar concerns have driven the United States and other economies to raise tariffs and tighten trade rules in recent years.

The EU already has tools like anti-dumping duties (extra taxes on suspiciously cheap imports) and the General Product Safety Regulation, but enforcement has struggled to keep pace with the explosion of e-commerce. Platforms like Temu, Shein, and AliExpress ship millions of small parcels directly to EU consumers, exploiting a customs loophole that exempts packages worth under €150 from import duties. This loophole was designed decades before online shopping existed.

The Digital Product Passport (DPP) is an EU initiative already in development — a digital label that will let consumers, customs officers, and businesses quickly check a product's origin, materials, and compliance history.

Impact on people living in the EU

In practice, some prices for cheap imported goods may rise, as closing the €150 customs loophole and adding compliance requirements will increase costs for foreign sellers. However, the products that remain available should be safer and more honestly labelled.

Impact on people outside the EU

Chinese exporters and platforms face the most direct consequences. If the Commission acts on these recommendations, selling into the EU will require meeting stricter labelling, safety, and customs rules — raising costs for businesses currently competing on price alone.

Other developing-country exporters (textiles, agriculture) could also be affected if origin labelling and compliance checks are tightened, even if their practices are not considered "unfair" in the same way.