Sourcing felt and felt sheets from China
Felt from China, such as polyester needle felt for automotive and furniture use, wool felt, craft felt sheets and industrial felt, pays 6% UK duty on every line with no anti-dumping duty. Most felt lines carry a cat and dog fur import check, fibre content must be labelled, and weight per area decides the price. Cambridge China Bridge sources felt.
Needle felt, wool felt and craft felt sheets from China pay 6% UK duty. The cat and dog fur check, fibre labels, weight and thickness tests and an example.
A flat 6%
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, felt of heading 5602, whether needleloom felt and stitch-bonded fabric, other felt of wool, animal hair or other textile materials, or felt impregnated, coated, covered or laminated, carried 6% on goods from China on every line, with no anti-dumping measure.
Most felt lines, other than wool felt, carry an import control under the [Cat and Dog Fur (Control of Import, Export and Placing on the Market) Regulations 2008](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/2795/contents), so the entry declares that the goods contain no cat or dog fur. Spunbond and other nonwovens that are not felt are in our nonwoven fabrics guide; confirm the commodity code from how the felt is made.
| Goods | Commodity code | Duty | Anti-dumping duty on China |
|---|---|---|---|
| Needleloom felt of other textile materials, such as polyester | 5602 10 19 00 | 6% | None |
| Needleloom felt, impregnated, coated, covered or laminated | 5602 10 90 00 | 6% | None |
| Other felt of wool or fine animal hair | 5602 21 00 00 | 6% | None |
| Other felt of other textile materials | 5602 29 00 90 | 6% | None |
| Other felt, impregnated, coated or laminated | 5602 90 00 00 | 6% | None |
Specifying felt
Felt is bought on fibre, weight per square metre, thickness, density and finish, and for technical uses on tensile strength, air permeability and temperature resistance. Mass per unit area, thickness and tensile strength of nonwoven and felt fabrics are tested by the methods of the ISO 9073 series; put the values and tolerances in the product specification.
Felt sold to consumers or garment makers is a textile product, so fibre names and percentages follow the [Textile Products (Labelling and Fibre Composition) Regulations 2012](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/1102/contents); felt used in upholstered furniture falls under the furniture fire safety rules, and craft felt for children's kits is checked against toy safety expectations.
Worked duty example
An invented example rather than a quote: 8 tonnes of polyester needle felt in rolls, commodity code 5602 10 19 00, bought for £14,000 free on board, with £1,500 of freight and insurance, so £15,500 is the value customs works from. Duty at the 6% rate for needle felt is £930. VAT at 20% applies to £16,430, so £3,286. A VAT-registered buyer usually recovers the VAT, so the border adds £930 to the landed cost. See calculating UK import duty and VAT for the method.
What goes wrong
Felt fails on weight, fibre and colour. Weight per square metre or thickness is lower than ordered so the felt is weak and see-through; felt sold as wool is a blend with more polyester than stated; colours bleed or fade; recycled fibre brings specks and odour; and rolls are telescoped or crushed in the container.
Weigh cut samples and measure thickness across the width against the specification, test fibre content on wool and wool-blend felt, check colour against the approved shade and rub-test dark colours, check odour and specks on recycled grades, and inspect roll winding, cores and wrapping before loading.
Cambridge China Bridge sources needle felt, wool felt and craft felt for makers, retailers and manufacturers, starting with swatches and a trial roll. See how we handle first and smaller orders.
Frequently asked questions
What is the UK import duty on felt from China?
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, felt of heading 5602 carried 6% from China on every line.
Why is there a cat and dog fur check on felt?
Most felt lines carry an import control under the Cat and Dog Fur Regulations 2008, so the importer declares none is present.
How do I check felt weight?
Cut and weigh samples from across the roll and measure thickness against the specification, using the ISO 9073 methods.
Can I order a trial roll?
Usually yes. We start with swatches and a trial roll before a larger order.