Closing the accountability gap in e-commerce
EXPRA has joined a coalition of 88 industry and civil-society organisations calling on the European Commission to ensure that the forthcoming European Product Act closes the growing enforcement gap linked to e-commerce imports from third countries.
In 2025 alone, an estimated 5.9 billion low-value e-commerce parcels entered the European Union. Too often, products sold through online platforms reach EU consumers without a clearly identifiable economic operator established in the EU who can be held responsible for compliance with product, packaging and Extended Producer Responsibility requirements.
This creates an uneven playing field for compliant businesses, undermines effective market surveillance and leaves consumers and the environment insufficiently protected.
The coalition therefore calls for a clear principle: every product placed on the EU market, regardless of its origin or sales channel, must have an identifiable and accountable economic operator established within the EU/EEA.
Where no such operator can be identified, online platforms facilitating sales by third-country sellers should assume this responsibility.
For EXPRA, effective EPR cannot exist without enforceable obligations, fair competition and clear accountability across all sales channels. Closing this loophole is essential to tackle free-riding and ensure that producers selling into the EU contribute fairly to the systems that manage their packaging and products at end of life.
We thank all signatories for bringing this urgent issue forward.