The Policy Briefing: De Minimis and why it is Decimating UK Fashion
And what the government could do about it before March 2029.
What Is De Minimis?
More than a Latin phrase, currently the UK’s “de minimis” rule allows goods valued at £135 and under to enter the UK without paying any customs duty. While this was initially meant to reduce bureaucratic friction on low-value personal imports, it has been systematically exploited by ultra-fast fashion platforms as a financial business advantage, enabling them to ship millions of individual parcels direct to British consumers, completely duty-free.
Tamara with Kate Hills from Make It British, and British retailers at No 10.
The result is a two-tier system: on the one hand UK-based businesses, including the 99% of the sector who are SMEs, pay their taxes, comply with regulations, which let’s face it post-Brexit have mushroomed, and invest in ethical supply chains; while overseas e-commerce giants flood our market without equivalent obligation.