How to export Womenswear from the UK to China

Womenswear: dresses and skirts, UK exports under HS 6104-6206 (52 subheadings)

Start with the garment, not the collection name: distinguish knitted or crocheted construction from other construction, then identify the fibre. Have the buyer settle the import route and applicable requirements before committing stock. The largest supplied UK export line was 62044300, synthetic-fibre dresses excluding knitted or crocheted garments, at £468k under HS 620443 in 2025. The broader figures below include other womenswear, so they are not a dresses-and-skirts market total.

UK exports under HS 6104-6206 (52 subheadings): HMRC recorded £3.2m of UK goods exports to mainland China under 52 HS6 subheadings in 2025 (2024: £3.2m, +0.2%). Exports to Hong Kong under the same codes were £22.3m. January to July 2026: £1.8m against £1.9m in the same months of 2025 (-0.6%).

Price each garment against its Chinese tariff line

The listed dress and skirt tariff lines carry 6% MFN duty except synthetic-fibre dresses, which carry 8%. Import VAT's standard rate is 13%; its base is customs value plus customs duty plus consumption tax. The importer's customs adviser confirms whether consumption tax applies to these garments. Duty and VAT add to landed cost and shape the price your buyer can offer.

Make textile safety part of sample acceptance

GB 18401-2010, China's National General Safety Technical Code for Textile Products, is a current mandatory standard. Send garment specifications and representative samples to your buyer for assessment against the applicable requirements. Resolve the standard assessment and proposed label artwork before approving production for China; have the buyer's customs broker confirm the requirements for the particular garments and route.

Prepare the UK declaration around the actual garments

For exports from England, Scotland or Wales, you need a GB EORI and the correct commodity code. The online export declaration needs value, weight, packaging, destination, transport and invoice and packing list references. Give the carrier the invoice and any applicable export licences or certificates. Keep descriptions consistent across the garment specification, invoice and packing list so cotton skirts and synthetic-fibre dresses are not treated as one undifferentiated shipment.

Check cross-border eligibility before choosing retail sales

The cross-border retail import list is only a partial match for this broader womenswear category: the identified entries are 61041300, 61042200, 61042300, 61042990, 61043100 and 61043200, covering suits, ensembles and jackets. These matches do not establish eligibility for your dresses or skirts. For eligible listed goods using bonded 1210 or direct 9610, personal-use supervision generally removes first-import licence, registration and filing requirements, subject to epidemic-area suspensions and emergency risk handling.

Find a buyer who can assess the garments and the route

Ask prospective importers which dress and skirt lines they intend to buy, which Chinese tariff lines they propose, and how they will assess textile safety and landed cost. Compare their answers with your sample specifications and commercial terms. If considering eligible cross-border retail goods, establish who handles customs registration and declarations: the overseas business must appoint a mainland-registered company and retains the main responsibility for product quality and safety.

Our own staff in China find and check Chinese importers and distributors for UK brands, and check an importer that has already approached you before stock is sent or anything is signed. We prepare registration and label work with licensed partners in China. Regulated roles, including the importer of record and any required cross-border agent, stay with licensed partners in China; your own filings stay yours. See our export service.