Europe’s textile and clothing industry, a vital ecosystem comprising roughly 200,000 companies and 1.3 million workers with an annual turnover of €170 billion, is facing a severe structural threat driven by uneven global competition. Data for the first half of 2025 reveals a crisis: textile production fell by 1.9% and clothing production dropped by 5%, while employment decreased by up to 5% across the sector. This contraction is fueled by a massive surge in non-compliant foreign imports, which rose by 7.7% for textiles and 12.3% for clothing during the same period.
Closing the customs "De Minimis" loophole
The industry’s representative body, EURATEX, warns that this competitive imbalance stems largely from the de minimis exemption. This loophole allows millions of low-value parcels (under €150) to enter the EU daily without standard customs, VAT, or safety checks. The problem is exacerbated by certain national postal operators in countries like Poland and Italy, who are reportedly accelerating deliveries for ultra-fast fashion platforms such as Temu, actively widening the regulatory gap.
EURATEX President Mario Jorge Machado affirmed that while the recent European Parliament resolution for stronger market surveillance is welcomed, "the real test starts today." The industry is demanding decisive legislative action, specifically the abolition of the de minimis exemption, to restore a level playing field and prevent the further erosion of European industrial standards. The forthcoming ECOFIN meeting on December 12 is viewed as a critical milestone for enacting these overdue reforms.
