Sourcing cold-drawn free-cutting bars from China

Duty on cold-drawn free-cutting steel bars

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 1 October 2026, heading 7215 covers other bars and rods of iron or non-alloy steel. Cold-drawn non-alloy free-cutting bars fall within 7215 10 00 00 when not further worked than cold-formed or cold-finished. The table shows common shapes within that commodity line.

The supplied tariff record lists 50% third-country duty for goods from China. It records no anti-dumping or countervailing duty, suspension or attached import control for this line, and does not flag a steel measure. The wider published guide describes a different quota treatment; do not use that description to reduce the duty shown in this snapshot.

Give your customs broker the grade chemistry, section and processing condition, and confirm the commodity code before shipment. A supplier’s description of a bar as bright steel does not establish its composition. See the bright steel bars guide for the wider product family.

Specify chemistry, drawing condition and machining needs

Specify the grade and agreed material standard, section, dimensions, cold-drawn finish, tolerance, straightness, cut length and delivery condition. State the required sulphur and lead content rather than accepting a general promise of easy machining. Agree surface defect limits, bundle identification and corrosion protection. Ask for a material inspection certificate linked to the heat numbers.

For parts destined for electrical equipment, check the lead content before approving the grade. Confirm with the relevant authority whether a machining-steel lead exemption up to 0.35% by weight applies to the intended application. Great Britain operates its own hazardous-substance exemptions system independently of the EU system.

Confirm with HMRC or your customs broker whether these bars fall within the iron and steel scope of the UK carbon border adjustment mechanism and when any requirements apply to your imports. Ask the mill for emissions data when preparing future orders, and see the UK carbon border adjustment guide.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: 30 tonnes of cold-drawn free-cutting steel round bar, illustrative under 7215 10 00 00, invoiced at £27,000 free on board, with £3,000 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £30,000. Duty at 50% is £15,000. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £45,000, so it is £9,000. Import taxes total £24,000; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £15,000 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Identity: match the grade and heat numbers on bundle tags to the material inspection certificate; check the reported sulphur and lead content.

Dimensions: measure diameter or across-flats at several positions against the agreed tolerance; check straightness and cut length.

Surface: examine bars for seams, scratches, rust and handling damage; check the protective oil and wrapping on arrival.

Machining: trial material from the supplied heat in the intended process and compare chip formation and the machined surface with the approved sample.

What goes wrong

A bar can meet its dimensional specification yet machine differently from the approved sample because the supplied chemistry or condition differs. Mixed heat numbers make investigation harder. Bent bars disrupt feeding, seams appear during machining, and rust damages the working surface.

Keep heat identity through storage and cutting. Agree chemistry, dimensional and surface acceptance criteria before ordering, then compare the delivered material with those criteria. Use the quality inspection guide to plan checks before dispatch and on arrival.

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.