> subpar chinese products are OK

Subpar Chinese products are not officially OK, they're just not really stopping individual packages from AliExpress. They generally aren't being resold through EU retailers.

For me, the lack of any de-minimis rules in the requirements is the killer. EU law does not recognize the concept of a "small business". It might be both viable and a good idea for extra safety checks for something where a million units are being sold, but it isn't for a few dozen.