Sourcing electric motors from China: IE3 and duty

Zero duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 25 September 2026, single-phase AC motors, multi-phase AC motors in the 750 W to 75 kW bands and other listed motor lines carried 0% duty on goods from China, with no anti-dumping measure. Many specialised motors have their own ten-digit lines, so confirm the commodity code for each motor. For stepper motors, see our stepper motor sourcing guide. For switched reluctance designs, see our switched reluctance motor sourcing guide. For the reverse trade route, see exporting UK electric motors to China.

Motors are dense and ship well by sea; the landed price is mostly product, freight and testing.

Efficiency classes

Chapter 6 of the Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information Regulations 2021 applies to induction motors without brushes, commutators, slip rings or electrical connections to the rotor, rated for 50 Hz, 60 Hz or 50/60 Hz, with 2, 4, 6 or 8 poles, a rated voltage above 50 V up to 1,000 V and a rated power from 0.12 kW to 1,000 kW, rated for continuous duty and direct on-line operation. It also covers three-phase-input variable speed drives used with those motors.

Schedule 16 sets the minimum efficiency. Ask for the efficiency test report for each rating, and check the IE class and nameplate data on production motors at inspection; a motor sold into markets without these rules may be a lower class with the same frame.

Specification and testing

A motor order is a list of numbers: power, voltage, frequency, poles, frame size, mounting, protection rating, insulation class and duty cycle. Put them all in the product specification with the nameplate you expect, because a motor that fits the frame but not the duty will fail in service.

Brushless DC motors are outside the induction motor scope, but induction motors for OEM products may be covered unless an exemption applies, such as for completely integrated motors whose energy performance cannot be tested independently from the product. These motors are often bought on efficiency too; ask for the test method behind any efficiency or torque figure. For frameless designs, see our guide to sourcing frameless torque motors.

Worked duty example

For a made-up shipment of 400 three-phase 4 kW IE3 motors under 8501 52 20 89, add the £2,500 of freight and insurance to the £48,000 free-on-board price and customs sees £50,500. Duty on three-phase motors is zero, leaving import VAT of £10,100, 20% of the customs value. For a VAT-registered buyer that is a cash-flow cost rather than a lasting one. Motors are dense cargo, so freight adds little to the value. The duty and VAT guide walks through the calculation.

Inspection checklist

Efficiency class and enclosure: check the IE code on the nameplate is the one IEC 60034-30-1 gives for the measured efficiency, and ask for degree of protection test evidence to IEC 60034-5 for the IP rating claimed.

Rotor and bearings: ask for the rotor balance grade to ISO 21940-11 used in production, measure shaft runout on sampled motors, and check the bearing make, type and grease against the specification and the spare parts list.

Noise, paint and terminals: measure noise against the limits of IEC 60034-9, check paint thickness to ISO 2808 and adhesion by cross-cut to ISO 2409, and check terminal markings follow IEC 60034-8 with an earth terminal fitted.

What goes wrong

Motors fail on efficiency, bearings and dimensions. Nameplates show IE3 while the measured efficiency is a class lower, bearings are noisy or run hot, windings use a lower insulation class than stated, and shafts, feet or flanges do not match the IEC frame dimensions, so the motor does not fit the machine it replaces. Protection ratings such as IP55 are printed without a test, and paint and terminal boxes corrode.

Ask for an efficiency test to IEC 60034-2-1 for each rating and spot-check production motors, check nameplate data against IEC 60034-1, measure shaft, feet and flange dimensions against IEC 60072, run no-load and load tests with vibration measured to IEC 60034-14, test insulation resistance, and check the IP rating evidence and the terminal box seals.

Supply continuity

OEM buyers need the same motor for years. Ask the factory how long it will build the same design, how it notifies changes to laminations, windings or bearings, and keep an approved sample for comparison.

Cambridge China Bridge sources industrial and OEM electric motors to a written specification, with efficiency test evidence and production inspection before shipment. See how our sourcing service works.

Related guides: Sourcing water pumps and circulators from China, Sourcing hydraulic and pneumatic cylinders from China.

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