Importing from China to Europe: Regulations

The most important fact about importing from China to Europe regulations is where the responsibility lands: on the importer, not the factory. Once goods cross the EU border in your name, you are legally the party placing them on the market — responsible for their safety, their marking, and the documentation that proves both.

That is why 'the supplier said it's certified' is never a defence. If a product is stopped at customs or challenged by a market-surveillance authority, the authority comes to you, and you must produce the file. This page is a hub; the category guides it links to go deeper on specific products, but three regimes apply across almost everything: CE marking, GPSR, and REACH.

CE marking declares that a product conforms with whichever EU directives apply to it — the Low Voltage Directive, EMC, Machinery, Toy Safety, PPE, and others. It is not a quality mark and, for most categories, it is self-declared by the manufacturer or importer, which means the mark on its own proves nothing.

CE marking for Chinese products is only as good as the technical file and test reports behind it. Before relying on a CE claim, confirm which directive applies, that a Declaration of Conformity exists and names your product, and that the test reports come from a competent (ideally accredited) laboratory. Where a directive requires a Notified Body, its four-digit number must appear.

Since 13 December 2024 the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR), Regulation (EU) 2023/988, applies to consumer products that are not already covered by sector-specific safety rules. GPSR compliance for importers means several concrete obligations: there must be a responsible person established in the EU, products must be traceable (importer identity, model, and batch on the product or packaging), and clear safety information and warnings must be provided.

For an importer selling into the EU — especially through online marketplaces — the responsible-person requirement is the one most often missed. Without an economic operator established in the Union, compliant goods can still be blocked from sale. Put the responsible person and traceability in place before goods ship, not after a listing is taken down.

REACH, Regulation (EC) 1907/2006, governs chemicals — including substances present in ordinary articles such as a plastic, a coating, a solder, or a dye. Its candidate list of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) is the practical trigger: above a 0.1% weight threshold in an article, duties to communicate and sometimes notify apply, and some substances are restricted outright.

REACH SVHC checks on China suppliers are therefore part of due diligence for anything containing plastics, metals with coatings, or treated textiles. Ask for material declarations and, where the risk warrants it, independent lab testing against the current candidate list — it is updated twice a year, so 'compliant last year' is not the same as compliant now.

For a CE-marked product the minimum file is a Declaration of Conformity signed by you, a technical file held for market surveillance, test reports from a competent laboratory, correct labelling (importer name and address, model, batch, warnings), and — under GPSR — a named EU responsible person.

Assemble this before production, not after arrival. A factory that cannot supply real test reports up front is telling you something, and it is far cheaper to hear it before the deposit than after the container is on the water.