"Welcome to the Cube, Uranus' fact-taking show. Shopping on Shin, Team U, or Amazon is now more expensive in the EU. That's the claim that's been circulating since the 1st of July. The European Commission has introduced a temporary 3-euro duty on low-value parcels entering the EU from outside the block and it applies to each distinct item type worth up to 150 euros that is bought online and shipped directly to consumers. Brussels says it's about creating fairer competition for European businesses. Critics argue consumers will end up footing the bill. The European Commission told us that consumers are not legally responsible for paying the duty and that it's up to sellers to decide how they will absorb the cost. So while it's true that customers are not legally required to pay the extra duty, according to euro consumers, the reality may be very different in practice. As Olivia Brown told us, when a new cost is added anywhere in the supply chain, companies rarely absorb it entirely. Instead, it often ends up being passed on to consumers. We put it to the test by ordering the product on Amazon from outside the EU to Belgium. At checkout, the platform added an import charges duty of 3 euros on the item ordered. But some platforms, including Team U and Amazon, are reducing the impact of the new rules by shipping goods from warehouses already located inside the EU. So Team U put goods themselves in local warehouses. They come by boat and they are imported in bulk and these web shops pay wholesale prices, not retail prices on what the value for the consumer is, but wholesale prices. And that means that it's much lower than the taxes that they would have to pay on the packages if they go straight to the consumer. So basically they've been preparing for this. This reform is temporary and will apply until the 1st of July, 2028, ahead of the EU customs reform when a new customs system is expected to replace it."