Sourcing men's knitted suits and trousers from China

A flat 12%

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 25 September 2026, men's or boys' knitted or crocheted suits, ensembles, jackets and blazers, and trousers, bib and brace overalls, breeches and shorts carried 12% duty on goods from China in wool, cotton, synthetic or other fibres, with no anti-dumping measure.

Woven suits and trousers are in heading 6203, and tracksuits in 6112, covered in the tracksuits guide. Confirm the commodity code from the fabric construction. For underwear and sleepwear, see our men's underwear and loungewear guide. For accompanying shirts, see men's polo and knit shirt sourcing. For jogger styles, see our men's knitted joggers sourcing guide. For swimwear, see our competitive swimming suit sourcing guide.

Fibre labels

The Textile Products (Labelling and Fibre Composition) Regulations 2012 require the fibre composition to be shown using permitted fibre names. Test the bulk fabric, because blends are often declared wrongly, and put care symbols and sizes on the label artwork.

Fabric and fit

Knitted tailoring stands or falls on the fabric. Specify fabric weight, stretch and recovery, pilling resistance, shrinkage and colour fastness limits, and approve fit on a full size set. The apparel guide covers sampling and tech packs.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: 3,000 pairs of men's knitted cotton trousers under 6103 42 00 00, invoiced at £21,000 free on board, with £1,800 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £22,800. Duty at 12% is £2,736. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £25,536, so it is £5,107.20. Import taxes total £7,843.20; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £2,736 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Fabric performance: stretch and recovery tested by the strip methods of ISO 20932-1 so jackets and trousers do not bag, pilling to ISO 12945-2, colour fastness to rubbing to ISO 105-X12, and fibre content to the ISO 1833 series against the label, each on the bulk fabric against limits agreed before cutting.

Care and fusing: dimensional change after the care-label process, washing to ISO 6330 and ISO 5077 or dry cleaning to ISO 3175, on finished garments, with fused fronts and collars checked for bubbling or delamination after that process.

Make-up and fit: chest, waist, sleeve and inside leg measured on every size and colour against the size chart before and after the care test, seams checked for puckering on the knit, buttons pull-tested at an agreed load, and a final random inspection sampled to ISO 2859-1.

What goes wrong

Knitted tailoring fails because the fabric moves. Jersey and ponte jackets bag at the elbows and trouser knees when the fabric has poor recovery, seams pucker when the stitch and tension do not suit the knit, and fused interlinings bubble after washing or dry cleaning. Trousers shrink in length more than width, and dark colours rub off onto lighter shirts.

Test shrinkage, stretch recovery, pilling and colour fastness to rubbing on the bulk fabric, wash or dry clean a finished sample to check the fusing, measure inside leg and chest after washing as well as before, and at inspection check seam puckering, button security, pressing and shading between panels.

Inspection

At inspection, measure garments against the size chart, check seams, linings, buttons and pressing, and compare colour across bundles.

Cambridge China Bridge sources men's knitted suits, blazers and trousers, with fabric, fit and labels settled before the order. See how our sourcing service works. For knitted outerwear, see our men's knitted car coat sourcing guide.