UK Lags EU, US in Curbing Influx of Cheap Parcels from China

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Transcript

00:00Online shops like Shein and Tinu have brought cheap Chinese products to the masses.

00:05That's great news for bargain hunters, but for retailers, not so much.

00:09Especially in the UK, where they're exempt from import duties.

00:13The rule, which applies to partners worth less than £135,

00:16was meant to help avoid customs delays from personal purchases.

00:19But that means when online giants like Shein and Tinu ship cheap products

00:23directly from Chinese factories to UK portugals,

00:26shoppers can avoid customs and warehousing fees.

00:28Happy consumers, right?

00:30But on the flip side are the unhappy UK retailers.

00:34They say the exemption creates an uneven playing field

00:36and makes it difficult for them to compete.

00:39And the UK government agrees with it.

00:41Most countries do, actually.

00:42The US already ended its exemption last year,

00:45while the EU is introducing self-doubt beyond parcels starting this summer.

00:49That means turning its export rates to those countries

00:51are falling much faster than the UK.

00:54In the UK, the government announced plans to remove the exemption by March 2029,

00:59but retailers say that's just not enough.

01:01Several high street names, including Primark, Marx and Spencer, and Nex,

01:05have called for the government to act sooner.

01:07British retailers hope that responses from all around the world

01:10will start policy change at home,

01:12or have safe fear the UK just won't be able to compete in this new world,

01:15where access to factory goods is easier than ever.

01:18British retailers hope that they can't be able to compete in this new world.