Instrument strings and accessories from China

2% or 0% duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 27 September 2026, parts and accessories of musical instruments, heading 9209, carried 2% on goods from China for musical instrument strings, parts and accessories for pianos, for string instruments such as violins, for electronic instruments such as electric guitars, and for wind instruments, for metronomes, tuning forks and pitch pipes, and for other parts; mechanisms for musical boxes carried 0%. No line carried an anti-dumping measure.

Electronic tuners and effects pedals may be classified as electrical apparatus rather than instrument parts, and cases by their material, so confirm the commodity code. Complete instruments are covered in our acoustic guitars and violins guide, digital pianos and electric guitars guide and brass and woodwind guide.

Safety and branding

Accessories sold to consumers must be safe under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005, and platings and finishes should come with a supplier statement on restricted substances. Compatible parts and strings can name the instruments they fit, but must not use an instrument maker's trade marks in a way that suggests an original part.

Specifying strings and parts

For strings, specify gauges for each string, core material and shape, winding material (nickel-plated steel, phosphor bronze, 80/20 bronze), ball or loop end, coating, and sealed anti-corrosion packing. For parts, specify dimensions from drawings or samples, material, finish and fit, such as tuners' gear ratio or pickups' output.

Worked duty example

An invented example rather than a quote: 40,000 sets of guitar strings, commodity code 9209 30 00 00, bought for £28,000 free on board, with £900 of freight and insurance, so £28,900 is the value customs works from. Duty at the 2% rate for guitar strings is £578. VAT at 20% applies to £29,478, so £5,895.60. A VAT-registered buyer usually recovers the VAT, so the border adds £578 to the landed cost. See calculating UK import duty and VAT for the method.

Inspection checklist

Strings: measure gauges with a micrometer, check winding for gaps and ball-end fixing, and play-test samples for tone and intonation.

Parts: fit samples to the target instrument, check tuners turn smoothly and hold pitch, and check plating and finish.

Packing: check strings are sealed against humidity and labelled with gauges, and packs are free of unauthorised brand marks.

What goes wrong

String and parts orders fail on gauges, corrosion and fit. Gauges vary from the pack, strings corrode in unsealed packs after a sea voyage, ball ends pull out, windings buzz, tuners slip, and parts do not fit the stated models.

Measure and play-test samples, specify sealed packing, and fit parts to real instruments. See our quality inspection guide.

Cambridge China Bridge sources strings and instrument parts for UK music retailers and repairers, and has no minimum order of its own; the factory's minimum per item applies. See small orders.