Health, electronics, home: what gets held up at European customs and where it comes from

Almost seven out of ten ‘rejected’ items come from China. Last year, 67.9 per cent of products blocked at EU borders due to non-compliance or serious risk were of Chinese origin. This figure is down from the peak of 74.9% in 2024, but still well above the levels seen in 2022–2023, when the proportion stood at 57–58 per cent.

In second place are the United States, down to 5.4 per cent, a far cry from the 13–14 per cent of the previous two years. Next comes the United Kingdom, which has also seen a decline: from 8.3 per cent in 2022 to 6.1 per cent today. This is the breakdown of products that are not cleared by European customs, as set out in detail in the latest report from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union.

The most interesting figure, however, lies beneath the surface. In 2025, Hong Kong (3.25 per cent) and South Korea (3.86 per cent) return to the top sources. India, on the other hand, has dropped out of the picture; in 2023 and 2024 it accounted for 5.98 per cent and 2.71 per cent of waste respectively, but today it no longer features amongst the main sources. Turkey has also dropped out of the picture; it was present in 2022 but never returned to the top ranks.

In terms of product categories, health remains the hardest-hit sector – for the fourth year running. More than 27,000 items of waste are expected in 2025, almost five times the 6,736 recorded in 2022. These include medical devices, personal protective equipment, cosmetics and tobacco products.

Electronics have moved into second place, with 11,773 items of waste: for the first time, they have overtaken the ‘home and furnishings’ category, which stands at 9,237. This marks a clear reversal compared with 2024, when ‘home and furnishings’ held second place with 14,505 items of waste. The ‘children and childcare’ category remained more stable at 3,708, as did ‘other manufactured goods’ at 3,220.