Sourcing aluminium glazing beads from China

Duty on aluminium glazing bead profiles

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 2 October 2026, heading 7604 covers aluminium bars, rods and profiles. For glazing beads, distinguish open-section alloy profiles from hollow alloy profiles; non-alloy profiles have separate lines. These are classification candidates, so send the cross-section, composition and fabrication details to your customs broker.

The supplied tariff extract shows 6% ordinary duty throughout, with blank anti-dumping fields and no attached import controls. Those blanks do not establish that anti-dumping duty is absent: the published reference guide identifies additional duty up to 35.1%, or 15.4% for non-sampled cooperating exporters, subject to scope and invoice conditions. The hollow-profile suspension is restricted to specified board-frame uses; do not assume window glazing beads qualify.

Confirm the producer, invoice declaration and applicable measures before shipment. Use finding your commodity code for classification and the wider aluminium extrusions guide for the heading and trade-remedy background. Treat the illustrative order values as a costing scenario, not a supplier quotation; its ordinary percentage duty does not represent the complete tax bill.

Match the bead to the frame and gasket

Supply a dimensioned cross-section showing the retaining foot, clip engagement, gasket groove, visible face and critical wall thicknesses. Identify the receiving frame, glass build-up and gasket profile. Agree alloy, temper, cut lengths, corner preparation and whether lengths arrive loose or as matched sets.

Approve a sample assembled with your actual frame, glass and gasket. Check that the bead seats fully, retains the gasket and can be fitted without distorting the visible face. Specify anodising or powder coating, colour, gloss and masking of engagement surfaces.

For supply in Great Britain, check the exact product and intended use with a testing and certification adviser, including whether a construction-product standard or technical assessment applies. Official guidance confirms that CE marking remains available for construction products in Great Britain. Agree which performance documents cover the bead and which cover the assembled glazing system.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative trial stock order of open-section aluminium alloy glazing bead lengths under 7604 29 90 90, invoiced at £9,702 free on board, with £2,200 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £11,902. Duty at 6% is £714.12. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £12,616.12, so it is £2,523.22. Import taxes total £3,237.34; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £714.12 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Fit: trial-fit production beads in the approved frame with the specified gasket and glass build-up; check engagement, seating and gasket retention.

Dimensions: measure the retaining foot, groove, wall thickness, length, straightness and twist against the approved drawing.

Finish: compare colour and gloss with the approved sample; check coating thickness, scratches and coating build-up on clip surfaces.

Packing: check interleaving, end protection and bundle identification; repeat fit and surface checks on arrival. Agree the sampling plan through quality inspection.

What goes wrong

A bead can resemble the sample yet fail to engage because the retaining foot or gasket groove has changed. Coating build-up can tighten the fit, while soft material or twisted lengths distort during installation. Keep an approved assembled sample and require approval before any die, alloy or finish change.

Mixed profiles and scratched visible faces cause sorting and replacement work. Missing invoice declarations can also change the tax cost: the official notice applies the residual anti-dumping amount when the required invoice or declaration is absent. Check packing and producer paperwork before dispatch.

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.