Sourcing Alloy 52 nickel-iron wire from China

2% duty on nickel-alloy wire

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 1 October 2026, heading 7505 covers nickel bars, rods, profiles and wire. Nickel-alloy wire falls under 7505 22 00 00. The table includes neighbouring lines for comparison; unalloyed nickel and bar forms are not alternative descriptions for Alloy 52 wire. See the wider nickel guide.

The supplied tariff snapshot records 2% duty for Chinese-origin nickel-alloy wire, with no anti-dumping or countervailing measure and no suspension. It attaches waste import and export controls to the wire lines. For waste from China entering England under notification controls, shipment must wait for consent from the competent authorities of dispatch, destination and transit. Ask your customs broker to confirm the applicable waste procedure before shipping discarded material.

Confirm the commodity code using the heat chemistry, wire form and intended shipment description. Keep new manufacturing wire and discarded material clearly identified in the paperwork. Use the duty and VAT guide to calculate the import charges.

Specify Alloy 52 wire for your sealing process

Specify nickel-iron Alloy 52 by an agreed material specification and chemical composition, rather than accepting the grade name alone. State diameter and tolerance, roundness, annealed or drawn condition, tensile properties, surface finish, spool dimensions and permitted joins. For glass-to-metal sealing, agree the thermal expansion acceptance criteria, temperature range and test method with your process engineer.

Request a heat-specific mill certificate and an expansion test report where expansion is an acceptance criterion. Trial the wire with your actual glass, cleaning and heat-treatment process before approving production supply. UK REACH generally applies to substances on their own, in mixtures or in articles; ask your compliance adviser to assess the supplied wire and any coating.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 2 small spools of Alloy 52 nickel-iron wire for process trials under 7505 22 00 00, invoiced at £1,200 free on board, with £900 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £2,100. Duty at 2% is £42. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £2,142, so it is £428.40. Import taxes total £470.40; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £42 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Identity: compare sampled wire chemistry with the agreed specification and match each spool label to the heat certificate.

Dimensions: measure diameter and roundness along sampled lengths; check spool fit, winding and any joins against the order.

Process performance: check the agreed condition and thermal expansion report, then run the approved sealing trial with your own materials.

Surface and packing: inspect for scratches, oxide, drawing residue, kinks and damp packing. Record spool and heat identities before releasing stock.

What goes wrong

A grade name can hide a different composition or condition. Heat certificates may not match spool labels, diameter can vary, and wire can arrive scratched or contaminated. For a sealing application, a chemistry result alone does not establish that the wire will pass your process trial.

Agree acceptance criteria before ordering, retain an approved sample and hold disputed spools separately while checking the evidence. Keep heat identities through cutting and production. Use the inspection guide to brief the inspector.

Cambridge China Bridge sources these products for UK businesses, checking the factory and the documents before shipment. See factory verification. For repeat volumes, see container programmes.