Hand-knotted rugs from China
Knotted carpets and rugs of heading 5701 from China, whether wool, silk or synthetic and whether hand-made or not, pay 0% UK duty with no anti-dumping duty. Mothproofed wool is a treated article under the retained Biocidal Products Regulation, and larger buyers must cover forced and child labour in their Modern Slavery Act statement. Cambridge China Bridge sources rugs.
Hand-knotted wool and silk rugs from China pay 0% UK duty. Knot density, mothproofing as a treated article, supply-chain labour checks and an example.
Zero duty on knotted carpets
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, knotted carpets and other textile floor coverings of wool or fine animal hair, including those with more than 10% silk, and of silk, synthetic fibres or other textile materials, whether hand-made or not, carried 0% duty on goods from China, with no anti-dumping measure. Import VAT at 20% is due on the customs value.
Woven flatweave and pile rugs are in heading 5702 and tufted rugs in 5703, so the construction decides the code and the duty; see our woven rugs guide and tufted carpets guide. Confirm the commodity code.
| Goods | Commodity code | Duty | Anti-dumping duty on China |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wool with more than 10% silk, hand-made | 5701 10 10 10 | 0% | None |
| Other wool or fine animal hair | 5701 10 90 00 | 0% | None |
| Silk or synthetic fibres, hand-made | 5701 90 10 10 | 0% | None |
| Other textile materials, hand-made | 5701 90 90 10 | 0% | None |
| Other textile materials, not hand-made | 5701 90 90 90 | 0% | None |
Mothproofing, labour and fire
Wool rugs are often mothproofed with an insecticide, which makes them treated articles under the retained Biocidal Products Regulation 528/2012: the active substance must be approved for that use and the label must name it where the regulation requires. Ask the mill which substance and at what level, and get it in writing.
Hand-knotting is labour-intensive and done in workshops and homes, so traceability matters. A business with turnover of £36 million or more must publish a statement each year under section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 on the steps it takes against slavery and trafficking in its supply chains, and retailers of any size increasingly ask for independent certification of child-labour-free production. Rugs for contract use also need a reaction to fire class under BS EN 13501-1.
Worked duty example
Take a hypothetical order of 100 hand-knotted wool rugs, entered under 5701 10 90 00: £25,000 free on board plus £1,500 of freight and insurance gives a customs value of £26,500. Hand-knotted wool rugs carry no duty, so import VAT of 20% on £26,500, £5,300, is the only tax. A VAT-registered importer normally reclaims it, so the border adds no lasting cost. Tufted rugs of heading 5703 carry duty, so a hand-knotted construction is worth confirming on the invoice. Step by step: UK import duty and VAT.
What goes wrong
Hand-knotted rugs fail on density, dye and size. Knot count is lower than quoted, so pile is thin and the design blurs; wool is blended with cheaper fibre; colours bleed when the rug is first cleaned or fade in sunlight; and rugs arrive a few centimetres off size or out of square because of uneven tension on the loom. Moth damage appears in storage when mothproofing was skipped.
Count knots per square inch on the back of each design against the specification, test fibre content to the ISO 1833 series, colour fastness to rubbing to ISO 105-X12 and to light to ISO 105-B02, measure length, width and diagonals of every rug, weigh rugs to check pile weight against the sample, and inspect the back for repairs and weak knots.
Cambridge China Bridge sources hand-knotted and hand-tufted rugs for retailers and interior designers, visiting the workshops that make them. See how we verify a factory.
Frequently asked questions
What is the UK import duty on hand-knotted rugs from China?
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, knotted carpets and rugs of heading 5701 carried 0% from China, with no anti-dumping duty.
Are mothproofed wool rugs regulated?
Yes. They are treated articles under the retained Biocidal Products Regulation, so the active substance must be approved and may need to be named on the label.
Does the Modern Slavery Act apply to rug importers?
A business with turnover of £36 million or more must publish an annual statement on slavery and trafficking in its supply chains.
How is rug quality checked?
By counting knots per square inch, testing fibre content and colour fastness, and measuring every rug for size and squareness.