Sourcing glass fibre and glass wool from China

Duty by form

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, the rates below applied to heading 7019 goods of Chinese origin, with no anti-dumping measure. Several fabric lines are split for consignments from other countries such as Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, India, Morocco and Türkiye; goods shipped from China use the other lines. Suspensions give 0% to many named glass fibre products to 31 December 2028, each on its own line or under an additional code, such as specified yarns, S-glass and high-tex rovings, and silane-treated E-glass fabrics for prepregs and copper clad laminates; ordinary mesh, mats and fabrics pay the rates in the table.

Rechecked on 27 September 2026: impregnated and coated rovings with a loss on ignition of 3% or more (7019 12 00 03) pay 6% rather than 7%, mechanically and chemically bonded mats pay 6%, stitched and needled fabrics (7019 69 10) pay 4% but other woven fabrics under 7019 69 90 pay 6%, and chemically bonded veils and other chemically bonded fabrics (7019 71 to 7019 73) pay 4%.

Confirm the commodity code from the form, weave and coating.

Insulation and construction

Glass wool sold as thermal or acoustic insulation for buildings is a construction product under the retained Construction Products Regulation where a designated standard applies, needing a declaration of performance and UKCA or CE marking, with a reaction to fire class. Fibreglass mesh for render systems is usually sold as part of a tested system, so ask which system certificate covers it.

Composites and handling

For composite reinforcement, specify glass type (E-glass or other), tex, sizing compatible with your resin, and fabric weight. Fibres irritate skin, so ask for the safety data sheet and handling advice, and a UK REACH statement on sizings and coatings. For loose reinforcement fibres, see our chopped glass fibre strands guide. For woven reinforcement, see our fibreglass woven roving sourcing guide.

Worked duty example

For a made-up shipment of 100,000 square metres of alkali-resistant render mesh under 7019 61 00 85, add the £2,400 of freight and insurance to the £21,000 free-on-board price and customs sees £23,400. At 6%, duty on these glass fibre mesh is £1,404; import VAT of £4,960.80 is 20% of the value with duty added. Together that is £6,364.80, but a VAT-registered importer usually gets the VAT back. The duty and VAT guide walks through the calculation.

Inspection checklist

Rovings, yarn and fabric: linear density measured to ISO 1889 against the tex ordered, loss on ignition to ISO 1887 to confirm the sizing content, moisture to ISO 3344, mass per unit area of mats to ISO 3374 and of fabrics by weighing cut samples, and breaking strength of woven fabrics to ISO 4606, each compared with the data sheet and the batch certificate.

Render mesh: mass per unit area and mesh opening measured on samples, and tensile strength tested as received and after alkali conditioning by the method the render system holder specifies, with the result compared with the system certificate that covers the mesh rather than a generic data sheet.

Insulation: products checked against the declaration of performance to BS EN 13162, thickness measured after unwrapping and recovery to BS EN 823, thermal conductivity supported by a report to BS EN 12667, reaction to fire class to BS EN 13501-1, and rolls and slabs checked for wet or crushed packs before loading.

What goes wrong

Glass fibre fails on coating, weight and moisture. Render mesh without a proper alkali-resistant coating loses strength inside the render within a few years, so cracks return; mesh and fabric sold at a stated weight run light, and rovings with sizing that does not suit the resin wet out badly. Glass wool that gets wet in transit slumps and loses thermal performance, and compressed rolls may not recover their declared thickness.

Ask for the alkali resistance test and tensile strength retention for mesh, weigh test cuts and check mesh opening, check sizing type and tex against the resin maker's advice, and for insulation measure recovered thickness after unwrapping and check the declared thermal conductivity and fire class against the declaration of performance. Keep rolls wrapped and off the container floor.

Inspection

At inspection, check roll weight, width, tex, moisture and packaging against damp.

Cambridge China Bridge sources glass fibre rovings, fabrics, mesh and insulation, with specifications and construction product evidence settled before the order. See how our sourcing service works.