Sourcing cotton woven fabrics from China
Woven cotton fabrics of 85% or more cotton weighing up to 200 g/m² from China, such as poplin, lawn, voile, cambric and light twill, pay 8% UK duty whether grey, bleached, dyed, yarn-dyed or printed, with no anti-dumping duty; grey fabric for bandages and gauze pays 4% under a suspension to 2028. Cambridge China Bridge sources cotton fabrics.
Cotton poplin, lawn, twill and printed cotton up to 200 g/m² from China pay 8% UK duty. Weave and weight codes, testing and a worked example.
Codes by finish, weave and weight
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, woven cotton fabric of heading 5208 carried 8% on goods from China across unbleached, bleached, dyed, yarn-dyed and printed lines, with no anti-dumping measure. Unbleached fabric for bandages, dressings and medical gauze (5208 11 10 00) is 4% under a suspension until 31 December 2028. The code depends on finish, weave (plain or 3- or 4-thread twill), weight bands at 100 and 130 g/m² and width over or under 165 cm, and the declaration reports square metres.
Heavier cotton over 200 g/m², such as canvas and denim, is in heading 5209, and knitted cotton in heading 6006, covered in our knitted fabrics guide. Confirm the commodity code from a lab test of weight and fibre content.
| Goods | Commodity code | Duty | Anti-dumping duty on China |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unbleached, plain weave up to 100 g/m², for bandages and gauze | 5208 11 10 00 | 8%; 4% to 31 Dec 2028 | None |
| Unbleached, plain weave up to 100 g/m², other | 5208 11 90 00 | 8% | None |
| Bleached, plain weave up to 100 g/m², other | 5208 21 90 00 | 8% | None |
| Dyed, plain weave 100-130 g/m², up to 165 cm wide | 5208 32 16 00 | 8% | None |
| Dyed, 3- or 4-thread twill | 5208 33 00 00 | 8% | None |
| Yarn-dyed, plain weave over 100 g/m² | 5208 42 00 00 | 8% | None |
| Printed, plain weave over 100 g/m², other | 5208 52 00 99 | 8% | None |
Specifying and testing
Specify fibre content, yarn count, ends and picks per centimetre, weight, width and finish, and test against them: mass per unit area by ISO 3801, thread density by ISO 7211-2, tensile strength by ISO 13934-1, tear by ISO 13937-2, dimensional change by ISO 5077 after washing to ISO 6330, and colour fastness to washing by ISO 105-C06 and rubbing by ISO 105-X12.
Fabric that becomes clothing for sale must carry a fibre label under the Textile Products (Labelling and Fibre Composition) Regulations 2012, and dyed fabric should be tested for restricted azo dyes under UK REACH Annex XVII entry 43.
Worked duty example
Suppose, purely for illustration, you import 30,000 m² of dyed cotton poplin, 120 g/m², 150 cm wide under 5208 32 16 00. At £42,000 free on board and £2,200 to ship and insure, the customs value is £44,200. Dyed cotton poplin at 8% pay £3,536 of duty; VAT is then worked out on value plus duty, £47,736, giving £9,547.20. Of the £13,083.20 paid at import, only the £3,536 of duty stays a cost for a VAT-registered business. The declaration also reports the quantity in square metres, the supplementary unit for this code. The method is set out in how UK import duty and VAT work.
What goes wrong
Cotton fabric fails on weight, shade and shrinkage. Construction is lighter than the approved sample, with fewer picks, so the fabric feels thin; shade varies between dye lots and from edge to centre of the roll; shrinkage after washing exceeds the garment allowance; and weaving faults, slubs and oil stains appear through the roll.
Inspect rolls on a lighted frame to the four-point system and grade faults per 100 square metres, cut shade bands from every dye lot for approval, test weight, thread count, shrinkage and fastness on each lot, and check roll width, length and labels against the packing list.
Cambridge China Bridge sources cotton poplin, lawn and printed cottons for fashion brands, shirt makers and craft retailers, starting with sample yardage and small first lots. See how we handle smaller orders.
Frequently asked questions
What is the UK import duty on cotton fabric from China?
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, woven cotton up to 200 g/m² carried 8% from China, with bandage fabric at 4% under a suspension.
Is cotton canvas in the same heading?
No. Woven cotton over 200 g/m², such as canvas and denim, is in heading 5209.
How is woven cotton declared?
By finish, weave, weight band and width, with the quantity in square metres.
How do I check cotton fabric quality?
Four-point roll inspection, plus tests for weight, thread count, shrinkage and colour fastness on each lot.