If you’ve tried buying a small, unique item from outside Europe recently, you’ve probably noticed something frustrating happening at the border. The European Union has taken a massive step backward by abolishing its long-standing €150 duty-free threshold for small incoming parcels. In their effort to combat mega-retailers like Temu, they have inadvertently declared a bureaucratic war on global trade—punishing both Asian exporters and European consumers in the process. The UK is currently reviewing its own £135 threshold, but it must not follow the EU’s protectionist path. Instead, the UK has a golden opportunity to breathe fresh air into its economy by doing the exact opposite: increasing the duty-free threshold to £850 per household. Here is why frictionless trade is the secret to a booming domestic retail sector, and how the UK can implement a smarter system. The EU’s Move: A Bureaucratic Stumbling Block Trade naturally wants to flow freely. The moment politicians place frictio...