Artificial and prepared waxes from China

Zero duty, but check which heading

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, artificial and prepared waxes of heading 3404, both polyethylene glycol waxes (3404 20) and other artificial or prepared waxes such as polyethylene, Fischer-Tropsch and blended waxes (3404 90), carried 0% on goods from China, with no anti-dumping measure.

The heading depends on what the wax is. Plain paraffin and microcrystalline wax are mineral waxes of heading 2712, covered in our paraffin wax guide; beeswax and other insect or vegetable waxes are heading 1521; and soy wax, made from hydrogenated soybean oil, is a hydrogenated vegetable fat. Ask the supplier for the composition and confirm the commodity code before quoting landed costs.

Specifying the wax

Wax is bought on its melting behaviour, hardness and purity. Put the drop melting point (ASTM D127) or congealing point (ASTM D938), needle penetration (ASTM D1321), oil content (ASTM D721) and colour in the product specification, with the form, such as slab, pastille or powder, and the pack.

Candle makers should also ask how the blend behaves with their fragrance load and wick. Candles sold in the UK must be safe under the [General Product Safety Regulations 2005](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1803/contents); the candle standards BS EN 15494 for safety labels and BS EN 15426 for sooting are the usual references, and our candles guide covers finished candles. Polyethylene waxes for plastics and inks are bought on molecular weight, viscosity and particle size.

Worked duty example

An invented example rather than a quote: 20 tonnes of blended container-candle wax in slabs, commodity code 3404 90 00 00, bought for £30,000 free on board, with £2,200 of freight and insurance, so £32,200 is the value customs works from. No duty is due on prepared waxes; import VAT at 20% of £32,200 is £6,440. If you are VAT-registered, that VAT is normally reclaimable. See calculating UK import duty and VAT for the method.

What goes wrong

Wax fails on melt point, oil and consistency. A blend's melt point drifts from lot to lot, so candles frost, crack or pull away from the glass; high oil content makes candles sweat and hold less fragrance; colour yellows; and polyethylene wax powders arrive with a coarser particle size than the sample, so they disperse badly.

Keep a retained sample of the approved lot, test drop melting point, penetration, oil content and colour on each lot, make test candles with the buyer's fragrance, wick and vessel before release, check particle size on powders, and inspect bags or cartons for contamination and caking.

Cambridge China Bridge sources artificial and blended waxes for candle, polish, cosmetic and plastics makers, starting with lab samples and a trial pallet where the maker allows. See how we handle first and smaller orders.