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UK importers could get news on de minimis changes later this year, but some worry it could have the same detrimental impact on consumers as seen in the US.
Marco Forgione, director general of the Chartered Institute of Export and International Ttrade, told The Loadstar that, although the US had been at the forefront of de minimis changes, the EU and UK were looking to implement similar schemes.
Regarding the UK, he commented: “We anticipate a timeline for consultation, report and announcement to coincide with the autumn statement.”
A spokesperson for the British International Freight Association (BIFA) told The Loadstar its members were waiting to see what the government decides, and questioned whether the consequences of any changes would be similar to those happening in the US.
After the White House first enacted the global revocation of its de minimis exemption in February, it quickly u-turned due to processing issues at the border, with customs officials overwhelmed by a sudden flood of declarations without adequate systems in place to aid clearance.
CBP has since invested in additional technology, and the US de minimis exemption was again removed on 29 August, globally, a move which has seen a large portion of airfreight imports removed from the domestic market and costs increase for ecommerce importers.
Indeed, Mr Forgione warned that, as UK de minimis changes would affect those shipping goods to the UK, it could mean price increases for consumers.
The BIFA spokesperson continued: “Shippers appear to be trying to identify which of their SKUs [stock keeping units] have been leveraging the de minimis exemption, and are running cost simulations that include applicable tariffs and fees, as well as simulating the cost of importing a large number of units at once, as opposed to individual shipments direct to consumers, to determine the most cost-effective fulfilment strategy.”
And while this change would add additional costs and admin to UK importers’ supply chains, it could be largely beneficial, some say.
The Loadstar has reported HMRC data that revealed the value of de minimis imports to the UK to be £5.9bn for the financial year ending April, up 53% on the previous year.
David Jinks, head of consumer research for UK-based Parcelhero, 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 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.
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