Market Overview: China–Germany Freight Costs and EU Customs Policy in September 2026

Since our last article at the end of August, three things that directly affect every import from China have moved: China–Europe freight costs, the timetable in the EU-China trade dispute and the new flat duty on small consignments. We put the current developments and deadlines into context for you.

China–Germany freight costs: prices settle after the surcharge ends

Sea freight from China to Northern Europe (the source uses German North Sea ports as its reference) is unchanged in September 2026 compared with August, and thus around 20 per cent below the July level, after the carriers' peak-season surcharge expired (sino-shipping.com, September 2026, accessed 04.09.2026).

Germany is therefore the only major European market back at its pre-surcharge price level. France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are still 7 to 10 per cent higher. Transit times, by contrast, have barely changed: because rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope is still common, transit times remain noticeably longer than on the direct route through the Red Sea.

Red Sea: carriers return, but caution remains

Since mid-February 2026, Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk have been sailing through the Red Sea and Suez Canal again with the IMX service under the Gemini Cooperation, and COSCO has also reopened bookings on this route (logistik-heute.de, 04.02.2026, accessed 04.09.2026). Compared with going around Africa, this route saves several days of transit time in each direction.

The return remains fragile, however: in mid-July 2026, the Yemeni Houthis announced a new blockade of Saudi oil shipments in the Red Sea and attacked several tankers. This explains why some container lines continue to sail around Africa as a precaution, and why the longer transit times mentioned above remain realistic rather than shortening.

EU-China trade dispute: October as the deadline

In mid-July 2026, EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič stated that Beijing must make concrete concessions on the trade deficit by October 2026. If none are forthcoming, the EU will consider protective tariffs; a decision could be taken in the autumn (Handelsblatt, 16.07.2026, accessed 04.09.2026). The background is concern in Brussels that Chinese exports displaced from the American market by higher US tariffs will increasingly be redirected to Europe.

In practice this means that calculations made today for deliveries after October carry a certain tariff caveat. If you order now, you should know the HS code of your goods and watch whether it falls within the product groups under discussion.

End of the customs exemption for small consignments: what has applied since 1 July

Since 1 July 2026, the former customs exemption for small consignments from non-EU countries has been abolished. Instead, a small flat duty applies per tariff line (HS code) in the consignment, not per parcel. An additional EU-wide handling fee is to follow and raise the total burden per line by about two thirds; member states must start collecting it by 1 November 2026 at the latest. The flat duty is due to be phased out completely by mid-2028, when the EU Customs Data Hub can determine product-specific duty rates automatically (Portless, accessed 04.09.2026).

This reform is aimed primarily at small consignments in B2C and platform trade. Industry pressure to tighten it further is current: at the beginning of September 2026, the European textile associations EURATEX, UFIMH and UIT called for a much higher fee, around two and a half to five times the range discussed so far, to cover the actual costs of customs control, product safety and market surveillance (just-style.com, 03.09.2026, accessed 04.09.2026). For regular B2B imports of goods, this reform changes nothing in principle, as they are cleared at the actual duty rate of the goods in any case. It does show the direction, though: EU customs practice towards goods from China is becoming stricter, regardless of the sales channel.

What this means for importers

Three practical points follow from this:

• Freight costs are currently low, but still allow a time buffer: prices to Northern Europe are stable and low compared with a year ago, but transit times remain long because of the situation in the Red Sea. If you deliver against fixed dates, base your planning on the sea freight time as extended by the Red Sea situation, not on the shortest theoretically possible transit time.
• Allow for a tariff caveat until October: orders that arrive only after a possible EU decision in the autumn carry a residual risk on import duties. Assigning the correct HS code before you place the order reduces this risk.
• Customs practice is becoming stricter overall: even if you import in the conventional way rather than through platform parcels, complete and correct documentation helps, as the density of controls at the EU external border is rising across the board.

You can find the current position for October in our market overview October 2026. We follow these developments continuously for our current and new orders and take them into account in our quotations and customs calculations. Regardless of this, the inspection of the goods by our own team in China remains a fixed part of every order, see quality control. If you would like us to assess a specific order or delivery time under these conditions, get in touch via our contact page.