Children's wooden furniture from China

Zero duty on wooden children's furniture

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, wooden furniture of a kind used in the bedroom, including cots and children's beds, other wooden furniture such as toy storage, tables and bookcases, and wooden seats, upholstered or not, carried 0% duty on goods from China, with no anti-dumping measure. Metal furniture parts, such as bed frames shipped as parts, carried 2%.

Furniture that is really a toy, such as a play kitchen or dolls' bed, is classified and regulated as a toy; see our toys guide. Prams and travel cots are covered in our pushchairs guide. Confirm the commodity code.

Safety standards and regulations

Cots and cot beds are tested to BS EN 716-1 and BS EN 716-2 for gaps, depths, dropside and base strength; bunk and high beds to BS EN 747-1 and BS EN 747-2, and the Bunk Beds (Entrapment Hazards) (Safety) Regulations 1987 set gap requirements for the upper bunk. Changing units follow BS EN 12221, high chairs BS EN 14988, and chests of drawers and wardrobes are tested for stability to BS EN 14749 and supplied with a wall fixing, because tip-over injures young children.

Paints and finishes should meet the heavy metal migration limits of EN 71-3, MDF parts should have formaldehyde emission tested to EN 717-1, and upholstered items sold for homes must meet the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988. The Timber and Timber Products (Placing on the Market) Regulations 2013 require due diligence on the timber's legal harvest, and the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 cover anything not caught by a specific rule.

Worked duty example

For a made-up shipment of 300 solid pine cot beds under 9403 50 00 00, add the £4,000 of freight and insurance to the £21,000 free-on-board price and customs sees £25,000. Duty on wooden cot beds is zero, leaving import VAT of £5,000, 20% of the customs value. For a VAT-registered buyer that is a cash-flow cost rather than a lasting one. Upholstered children's chairs of wood under 9401 61 00 00 were also 0%, while metal furniture parts would pay 2%. The duty and VAT guide walks through the calculation.

What goes wrong

Children's furniture fails on gaps, stability and finish. Cot bar spacing or mattress base depth drifts outside the standard when the factory changes timber, bunk bed guard rails are too low or have gaps that trap a head, drawers pull out and the unit tips because no wall fixing was supplied, and paint chips or fails a heavy metal test. Pine with high moisture content splits or warps after delivery, and missing bolts make assembly unsafe.

Test a production sample of every model to the relevant EN standard at an accredited lab, measure bar gaps, rail heights and openings on each lot with gauges, run a stability test on storage with drawers open, test paint on each colour, check timber moisture, count fittings against the instructions, and include wall fixings and warnings in every carton.

Cambridge China Bridge sources wooden cots, beds and nursery storage for UK retailers and brands, with standards testing and in-line gap checks agreed before production. Talk to us about children's furniture sourcing.