A new tax on fast and cheap clothing is introduced in France

As in the French Basque Country, the new tax on fast and cheap clothing has entered into force throughout the French state on Tuesday. This measure will particularly affect large platforms in Asia, such as companies such as Shein, Temu and AliExpress, and from today the French Government will apply penalty rates ranging from EUR 0.50 to EUR 12 per product. 

The aim is to boost a more sustainable textile industry and curb mass disposable consumption.

The tax on each garment shall be determined by the number of items marketed and the costof repairing them, assessing the usefulness of the repair services provided by the brands and the relationship between the sale price of the product and the reference limit for such repairs.

When prices are so low that there is no incentive to fix clothes, the surcharge will automatically apply, so this year you have to pay a 50 cent rate for underwear, 2 euros for t-shirts, and 9 euros for jeans.

Formally, and in order to guarantee the principle of non-discrimination, this measure is not specifically directed at Asian companies, but at those who employ such practices; but in practice the great platforms of China will be the principal victims.

The French Government is working with the European institutions to extend this measure, or similar measure, to the whole of the European Union, as it did to the tax on small packages, which in most cases contain textile products shipped from China, in order to gradually increase this scale to almost EUR 20 (EUR 19.50) per garment by 2030.