Monsoon boss Nick Stowe has urged the UK to follow in the footsteps of the US by removing the tax loopholes used by Chinese fast fashion giant Shein.
Over the past few days, US president Donald Trump has implemented tariffs on Chinese imports into the country, and scrapped “de mininis” exemptions which enabled products worth under $800 to be imported without paying certain taxes.
Small packages sent directly to US home addresses had previously been exempt from import taxes, which allowed businesses like Shein to avoid paying customs duties by shipping small, low-value orders directly to customers in the US.
The move has caused the US Postal Service to stop accepting parcels from Hong Kong and China until further notice.
Although the executive did not think the UK should bring in all the measures Trump has, he argued the government should address the tax loophole used by Shein.
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Stowe said: “I don’t think we should stop the parcels. I think we should demand that Shein pay their fair share – they should pay customs duty on product that they import. It’s long been a request of the UK retail community that this loophole should be closed.
“If you look at the situation in the UK in terms of tax requests on retailers, we’re being asked to pay extraordinary amounts of fund the gaps in public financing.”
He continued: “It seems extraordinary to me that you would turn to UK retailers and raise their taxes but ignore the fact that people like Shein are avoiding paying their customs duty in importing products into the UK.
“If we need the tax revenue then they should contribute to that.”
Earlier this week, it was reported that Shein’s planned £50bn London IPO could be at risk from Trump moving to close the tax loophole.
The fast fashion giant is planning to list in London in the first half of 2025 providing it secures regulatory approval, sources have said.
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