Sourcing babies' woven garments from China
Babies' garments and clothing accessories of woven textiles from China, including muslin sets, dresses, rompers, socks and mittens, pay 10% UK duty, with no anti-dumping duty. Babies' clothes must be safe under general product safety law, with firmly attached small parts, no hazardous cords and nickel-safe snaps. Cambridge China Bridge sources babies' clothing.
Babies' woven garments, muslin sets, dresses, rompers, socks and mittens pay 10% UK duty from China. Small parts, cords, nickel and a worked example.
A flat 10%
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, babies' garments and clothing accessories of heading 6209, of cotton, synthetic fibres, wool or other textiles, including gloves, mittens and mitts and stockings and socks, carried 10% duty on goods from China, with no anti-dumping measure. The tariff treats garments for young children up to 86 cm body height as babies' garments.
Knitted babies' garments are in heading 6111, covered in the baby clothing guide; confirm the commodity code from the fabric construction.
| Goods | Commodity code | Duty | Anti-dumping duty on China |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cotton gloves, mittens and mitts | 6209 20 00 10 | 10% | None |
| Cotton socks | 6209 20 00 20 | 10% | None |
| Other cotton garments | 6209 20 00 90 | 10% | None |
| Other synthetic fibre garments | 6209 30 00 90 | 10% | None |
| Other garments of other textiles | 6209 90 90 90 | 10% | None |
Safety for babies
Babies' clothes must be safe under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005. Buttons, snaps, bows and trims are choking hazards if they come off, so specify pull strength and test it; BS 7907 is the UK code of practice for the mechanical safety of children's clothing, and BS EN 14682 limits cords and drawstrings on children's clothing. Metal snaps in contact with skin fall under the UK REACH nickel release restriction in entry 27, and dyes under the azo restriction in entry 43.
Fibre composition must be labelled under the Textile Products (Labelling and Fibre Names) Regulations 2012, and labels themselves should be soft and sewn where they cannot come loose.
Worked duty example
For a made-up shipment of 10,000 babies' cotton muslin sets under 6209 20 00 90, add the £2,000 of freight and insurance to the £30,000 free-on-board price and customs sees £32,000. At 10%, duty on these babies' woven garments is £3,200; import VAT of £7,040 is 20% of the value with duty added. Together that is £10,240, but a VAT-registered importer usually gets the VAT back. The duty and VAT guide walks through the calculation.
What goes wrong
Babies' garments fail on small parts, shrinkage and sizing. Snaps set with the wrong die pull out of thin muslin, buttons sewn with too few stitches come off, and decorative bows are glued rather than sewn. Muslin and cotton shrink more than adult fabrics, sizes do not match UK age bands, and loose threads inside feet or mittens can wrap around fingers and toes.
Pull-test snaps and buttons on samples and after washing, test snaps for nickel release, check for loose threads inside mittens and feet, wash-test for shrinkage, measure against a UK size chart by age, and check that no cords exceed the lengths in BS EN 14682.
Cambridge China Bridge sources babies' woven sets, dresses, rompers, socks and mittens, with small parts testing, fabric tests and sizing agreed before the order. Find out how we source babywear.
Frequently asked questions
What is the UK import duty on babies' clothes from China?
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, babies' woven garments of heading 6209 carried 10% duty from China.
Where do knitted babies' clothes go?
Knitted babies' garments are in heading 6111, not 6209.
Which standards cover babies' clothing safety?
BS 7907 for mechanical safety of children's clothing and BS EN 14682 for cords and drawstrings.
Do baby snaps need a nickel test?
Yes. Metal snaps in skin contact fall under the UK REACH nickel restriction in entry 27.