UK Retailers Push for Fast-Track Levy on Low-Value Imports to Counter Online Rivals
UK Retailers Call for Urgent Customs Duty on Low-Value Imports
By James Davey
Background: Tax Loophole Benefits Overseas Online Retailers
LONDON, May 27 (Reuters) - British retailers, including Next and Marks & Spencer, have called for a £2.60 ($3.50) customs duty to be imposed urgently on low-value parcels from overseas to close a tax loophole that benefits online players like China's Shein.
UK retailers have been squeezed by rapidly growing ultra-low-cost platforms like Shein, Temu, AliExpress and more recently Amazon Haul, which send packages directly from factories in China to shoppers' doorsteps, benefiting from a customs waiver on parcels worth less than £135 pounds.
Government Response and International Comparisons
Last November, the UK government said it would start charging customs duties on low-value e-commerce parcels from March 2029 "at the latest" and began a consultation.
But that puts Britain well behind the European Union, which plans a €3 charge from July, and the United States, the biggest market for Shein and Temu, which ended its customs waiver, dubbed "de minimis", on parcels worth less than $800 in August.
Retailers Urge Faster Action from Government
Letter to Government Officials
GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO MOVE FASTER, SAY UK RETAILERS
In a letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer and finance minister Rachel Reeves, 16 UK retailers - also including Primark, Argos, ASOS, Kingfisher and Currys - said the government needed to speed-up the process.
Key Points from the Retailers' Letter
"There is an urgent need to act now," the letter said, noting low value imports trade increased by over 50% between 2023-2024 and 2024-2025.
"We urge you to accelerate the implementation of customs reform, with meaningful progress delivered by peak 2026 trading."
The letter stated that if that is not possible the government must follow the EU in bringing in an interim measure in the form of a flat charge per parcel.
"This ... would begin to restore fair competition between UK retailers and overseas sellers, to the ultimate benefit of UK consumers," it added.
Exchange Rate and Reporting Information
($1 = 0.7437 pounds)
(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Kate Holton)