Sourcing alloy cold-heading rod from China

Chemistry, coil form and import duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 29 September 2026, heading 7227 covers hot-rolled bars and rods of other alloy steel in irregularly wound coils. This guide concerns rod bought for subsequent drawing and cold heading. The table gives chemistry-based classification alternatives, not recommendations that every listed steel is suitable for cold heading. See the wider alloy steel wire rod guide.

The extract lists 0% for high-speed and silico-manganese steel, and 50% for the boron, listed carbon/chromium and other alloy lines. Every line lists 24.00% residual anti-dumping duty for China. The 50% lines carry the steel measure: ask your broker about quota availability. Anti-dumping remains payable within quota and cumulates with steel duty outside quota. No countervailing duty, suspension or attached import control is recorded.

Confirm the commodity code from heat chemistry, processing history and imported coil form. A supplier's cold-heading grade name does not establish the code. Have your broker check the exporter and invoice declaration before budgeting a lower exporter-specific anti-dumping rate. Use the import duty and VAT guide when checking landed costs.

Specify rod for your drawing and heading process

Give the mill the intended fastener or component, forming sequence and downstream heat treatment. Agree the steel grade, chemical limits, delivery condition, diameter and ovality tolerance. State whether you will anneal, descale and lubricate the material yourself. Record the agreed surface defect and decarburisation limits, together with the sampling and test methods.

Request heat-linked mill records covering chemistry and agreed mechanical properties. Specify coil dimensions, weight, winding and protective packaging to suit your handling and pay-off equipment. Agree a trial through your drawing and heading process before accepting the production lot. Use factory verification to check the mill's capability and traceability.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 20 tonnes of hot-rolled alloy-steel cold-heading wire rod under 7227 20 00 00, invoiced at £18,000 free on board, with £2,000 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £20,000. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £20,000, so it is £4,000. With no duty, the only import tax is the VAT, which a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Identity: match coil tags and heat numbers to the packing list and mill records; segregate mixed or untraceable heats.

Dimensions: measure diameter and ovality on representative samples; check coil dimensions and winding against your equipment.

Surface: inspect for seams, laps, rust and heavy scale; verify agreed surface defect and decarburisation limits.

Forming: check chemistry and agreed mechanical results; trial drawing and heading, inspecting formed heads for cracking before releasing the lot.

What goes wrong

A familiar grade name can conceal different chemistry or delivery condition. Substituted material can change the tariff classification and behave differently during forming. Record accepted chemistry and condition in the purchase specification, and retain heat identity through storage and production.

Surface seams can open during drawing or heading, while unsuitable hardness can cause cracking or unstable forming. Tangled coils interrupt feeding. Agree how failed trials and disputed test results will be resolved before shipment. Separately, budgeting ordinary duty alone or assuming quota removes anti-dumping understates import costs.

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.