News / End de minimis rules in Europe and 'level the playing field', call

ID 291915523 © Tomasragina

European importers are calling for EU and UK governments to follow in the US’s footsteps and remove de minimis exemptions for low-value Chinese imports to “level the playing field”.  

According to a Trade and Transport Group (TTG) analysis of Chinese Customs data, its exports of low-value and ecommerce items “again grew strongly” last month. 

Frederic Horst, CEO of TTG, observed that the decline in US markets, which he estimated to be between 40% to 50% in May to July, has been offset by “strong growth to Europe”.  

“Trade value to Europe has essentially doubled in the May-July period,” he said.  

David Jinks, head of consumer research for UK-based delivery firm Parcelhero, explained that once President Trump announced his intention to scrap the US de minimis exemption, many Chinese manufacturers and traders had “seen the writing on the wall” and were “targeting other lucrative markets”.  

Indeed, HMRC data reveals the average value of de minimis imports was £135 ($182) or less in the UK and totalled £5.9bn, which for the financial year ending this April was up 53% on the previous year. 

Mr Jinks said: “Britain has been engulfed in a tsunami of low-cost goods, usually imported directly from Chinese sellers. Put simply, it can be claimed that £5.9bn has effectively been taken from the UK economy and high street cash tills. 

“America’s unilateral ending of its de minimis threshold has destabilised the international market and may have made our own limit untenable,” he added. 

According to Mr Jinks, British clothing manufacturers and retailers are calling for a “level playing field” to prevent Chinese firms flooding online marketplaces with low-cost items.  

“They argue that international marketplaces such as Shein and Temu currently have an unfair advantage. Just last week, Shein revealed that sales to UK shoppers had soared by a third last year, to hit £2bn, pushing its profits up 57%, compared with 2023,” he said.  

“In order to survive, UK retailers need to see an end to cheap de minimis imports and to further develop their own omnichannel approach, embracing both online and physical store sales,” Mr Jinks urged. 

However, as has been seen by the overhaul of trade policy in the US, changing customs rules is not plain sailing. Additional requirements can cause administration work and price increases, as well as customs delays, for many traders that source products from China and, in turn, see consumer prices rise. 

The European Union has already announced plans to scrap its €150 de minimis exemption in 2028, possibly to be replaced by a €2 fee for each package arriving in member states.  

In April, the UK government said it would review the UK’s low-value item exemption, though no timeline or alternative was offered.  

But Mr Jinks warned: “Simply matching the EU’s 2028 deadline could leave UK retailers exposed to an exponential increase in low-value imports for three years longer than necessary.” 

The US de minimis exemption for Chinese imports was removed in May and is set to be removed on goods from the rest of the world on 29 August.