Currys CEO warns of ‘flood’ of Chinese products amid Trump tariffs
Alex Baldock and other CEOs warned that Chinese factories selling directly to marketplaces or platforms will increasingly dump smaller goods destined for the US into Europe
The head of Currys has warned that more Chinese products will “flood” the UK and Europe market through platforms like Temu, Shein and Amazon, following Donald Trump’s China tariffs and its effects on US trade.Alongside other retail executives, Alex Baldock warned that Chinese factories selling directly to marketplaces or platforms will increasingly dump smaller goods destined for the US into Europe, according to The Financial Times.
Baldock told the paper that there were early signs of “stock being diverted into European markets in a straightforward dumping way”.
He said: “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.”
Meanwhile, Nick Glynne, CEO of Buy It Direct, said: “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.”
While the US has flip-flopped and is now excluding smartphones and some other consumer electronics from its 125% “reciprocal” tariffs on China, it still signalled such products would fall under a different regime for tariffs on semiconductors.
Baldock and Glynne highlighted potential safety risks around certain products and criticised “tax dodging” by some Chinese factories that sold in online marketplaces, despite the influx of products possibly leading to lower prices for UK consumers.
Baldock told the FT: “The US has now closed the import duty loophole for low-value imports, and the EU is following fast. It’s all the more vital the UK isn’t left behind, so we’re not the only ones flooded with unsafe and tax-dodging products.”
Glynne added that large items such as fridges or washing machines, with certain voltage specifications, “can’t simply [be] diverted” to the UK if they were meant for the US.
Baldock said: “There are some scarce products [in gaming] that we wanted bigger allocations of than anyone could provide and suddenly we’re getting them because the stuff that was heading towards the US is now available.”
Currys declined to comment further.