The US removal of the de minimis threshold for items from China prompted many Chinese manufacturers and traders to redirect exports to other markets, notably the UK. HMRC recorded de minimis imports valued at £5.9bn in the year to April 2025, a 53% increase from £3.9bn the previous year. Britain experienced a surge of low-cost goods imported directly from Chinese sellers, eroding High Street revenues. British clothing manufacturers and retailers demand a level playing field to stop online marketplaces being flooded with cheap items. Marketplaces such as Shein and Temu have gained a competitive advantage; Shein's UK sales rose significantly to £2bn.
'Even before he took office, President Trump announced his intention of scrapping the US $800 (around £600) de minimis limit on all items arriving from China and Hong Kong. His first attempt ended in Customs chaos back in February, but he finally succeeded in his plan on 2 May. Long before then, however, many Chinese manufacturers and traders had seen the writing on the wall and were targeting other lucrative markets such as the UK.
'America's unilateral ending of its de minimis threshold has destabilised the international market and may have made our own limit untenable. In particular, British clothing manufacturers and retailers are calling for a level playing field to prevent Chinese firms from flooding online marketplaces with low-cost items. They argue 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 by 57% compared to 2023.
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