Around US $ 3.8 billion worth of small parcels were shipped from the UK to China last year under a widely criticised import tax exemption, according to new figures.
Chinese fast fashion giants SHEIN and Temu are among retailers understood to regularly send products to the UK in small packages, which then face no customs duty.
A Freedom of Information request by the BBC found that low-value imports from China to the UK more than doubled in 2024–25, rising to US $ 1.65 million from the previous year’s US $ 1.65 million. Parcels from China accounted for more than half of all small packages entering the UK under the duty exemption.
Data from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) highlighted the steep rise in such imports as politicians weigh scrapping the exemption. Under current rules, imports of packages valued at US $ 171 or less avoid customs duties.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a review of the rules in April, following concerns that the policy was enabling Chinese e-commerce firms to undercut UK high street retailers, which continue to pay significant business rate taxes.
Currys chief executive Alex Baldock has been among retail leaders calling for the exemption to be removed.
In the US, President Donald Trump eliminated the country’s “de minimis” duty exemption on low-value packages, a move that reportedly led Chinese companies to redirect products affected by higher tariffs into the UK and other markets. In May, the European Union also announced it would introduce a levy on shipments that previously qualified for tax exemptions.
