Retail bosses warn of dumping from Chinese firms into Europe
UK retail bosses have warned that Trump’s tariffs will cause low-quality goods to be dumped into Europe from China via distributor sites like Amazon.
Unable to sell competitively in the US due to US President Donald Trump’s 104 per cent tariffs on goods from China, as well as his decision to end the de minimis loophole for small shipments of goods, suppliers will increasingly be pushed to Europe, retailers said.
“Retailers are very concerned about the risk of some lower quality goods being rerouted from the US to Europe as a result of the tariffs,” Chief executive of the BRC Helen Dickinson said.
Currys chief executive Alex Baldock told the Financial Times that there were already signs of “stock being diverted into European markets in a straightforward dumping way”.
“The single biggest area where lots of stock is likely to land in the UK — at least in my world — is from the likes of Shein, Temu, Alibaba, TikTok shop, and most of all, Amazon marketplace, [which have a lot of Chinese vendors],” Baldock added.
Shein and Temu will be particularly affected by the end of the de minimus rule in the US, under which packages of less than $800 were exempt from any import duties.
Nick Glynne, chief executive of online electrical goods retailer Buy It Direct, told the FT: “The long-term threat with the tariff crisis is . . . the mass movement of Chinese factories selling directly to consumers either via marketplaces such as Temu and eBay or websites such as Shein.
“The numbers are already huge and all that’s going to happen is that it will accelerate, accelerate and accelerate.
Chief executive of Ultimate Products Andrew Gossage also said that Chinese factories were increasingly shifting sales from the US to Europe.