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GPSR for non-EU sellers: US, UK, Canadian and Australian stores
By Karim El Achaq, founder of EUReady · Last updated: 6 July 2026
- The GPSR applies to any product offered to consumers in the EU. Where your company is registered is irrelevant; where your customers are is what matters.
- A US, UK, Canadian or Australian Shopify store shipping to EU addresses is fully in scope, with no minimum-volume threshold.
- The structural requirement for non-EU sellers is an EU responsible person (roughly 150 to 500 euros per year); without one, every EU sale is non-compliant.
- Enforcement reaches foreign stores through marketplace delisting first, then customs and surveillance authorities, then buyer complaints.
Does GPSR apply to a non-EU store?
Yes. The GPSR applies to any product offered to consumers in the EU, and shipping to EU addresses from a Shopify store counts as offering to the EU market. The most common misconception we meet is that a US, UK, Canadian or Australian registration puts you outside EU law. It does not: where your company is registered is irrelevant, where your customers are is what matters.
What changes concretely for a non-EU store?
Four things change, and the first is structural: you need an EU responsible person before any EU sale is compliant. On top of that, your pages and parcels must carry the GPSR information, and packaging EPR applies separately.
- You need an EU responsible person. This is the structural requirement: a real economic operator inside the EU attached to your products. Expect roughly 150 to 500 euros per year for an authorised representative service. Without one, every EU sale is non-compliant.
- Your product pages must show the GPSR information: your identity and addresses as manufacturer, the responsible person's details, product identification, and warnings in the buyer's language.
- Your parcels must carry the same information on the product, packaging or documents inside.
- Packaging EPR still applies: shipping to German consumers requires LUCID registration, to French consumers a unique identifier; see our EPR overview.
Who enforces GPSR against a foreign store?
Three mechanisms enforce the GPSR against foreign stores, in order of how soon you will feel them: marketplaces, then customs and surveillance authorities, then buyers filing complaints. The marketplace one is already biting thousands of small non-EU sellers.
- Marketplaces: if you also sell on Amazon, Etsy or eBay, they already require GPSR fields for EU listings and delist offers without them. Etsy's and Amazon's GPSR crackdowns in 2024-2025 caught thousands of small non-EU sellers by surprise.
- Customs and surveillance authorities: parcels can be checked and stopped; repeat offenders can see products blocked at scale. The EU has been explicitly ramping up enforcement against distance sellers and low-value parcels since 2025.
- Buyers themselves: EU consumers increasingly know their rights, and a complaint to a national authority costs them nothing.
What is a realistic action plan for a non-EU seller?
Start by deciding whether the EU market is worth it; if it is, contract a responsible person, assemble your product information, put it on every page and parcel, and register for packaging EPR in your top markets. The five steps in order:
- Decide whether the EU market is worth it for you. If EU orders are rare accidents, geo-blocking EU checkout is a legitimate, free way to be compliant. If the EU matters, continue.
- Contract an authorised representative (one week, a few hundred euros per year).
- Assemble your product information: manufacturer details, warnings per category, translations for your main EU markets.
- Put it on every product page and in every parcel. On Shopify, EUReady automates the page part: scan, bulk-fill, translated display block.
- Register for packaging EPR in Germany and France if you ship there regularly.
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Frequently asked questions
I only get a few EU orders per year. Is there a threshold?
No threshold exists: one sale to an EU consumer is in scope. With very occasional orders, weigh the compliance cost against the revenue, and consider excluding EU shipping if it does not pay.
Does GPSR apply to UK sellers after Brexit?
UK sellers shipping into the EU are non-EU sellers like any other, with the extra twist that Northern Ireland follows the EU regime. GB-only sales fall under separate UK rules.
Will my parcels really get stopped?
Systematic parcel checks are not the norm yet, but delisting on marketplaces already is, and EU-level enforcement against non-compliant distance sales keeps tightening. Building on non-compliance is a bet that gets worse every year.
Official sources
This guide is general information for online sellers, based on publicly available EU legislation. It is not legal advice. Regulations evolve and national rules differ: for decisions that matter to your business, confirm with a qualified professional or the official sources linked above.