Shoppers could soon be paying more for their purchases from sites like Shein and Temu.
The Chinese websites have tripled in growth over the last two years, becoming popular for selling cheap clothes and household goods.
But the EU has announced parcels shipped by these retailers will face strict new customs controls, as part of a crackdown on "dangerous products" flooding the market.
Adrian Weckler, Tech Editor at the Irish Independent, says this will have a knock-on effect on consumers' pockets:
"There's a thing called the de minimis rule - anything that costs under €150 is more or less exempt from receiving the same kind of attention for customs.
"The EU is saying the safety and the quality of some of the goods are not good enough.
"It wants more checks number one, but also number two, it wants to phase out this exemption for cheap goods," Weckler said.
According to The Guardian, last year 4.6bn low-value parcels entered the EU, with more than 91% of parcels valued under €150 coming from China.
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