Sourcing men's woven briefs from China

Duty on men's woven briefs

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 2 October 2026, heading 6207 covers men's or boys' woven underwear, nightwear and similar garments. Men's woven briefs fall under 6207 11 00 00 for cotton or 6207 19 00 00 for other textile materials. Both carry 12% duty on goods from China, with no listed anti-dumping or countervailing duty, suspension or attached import control. The table shows fabric variants sharing these codes.

The wider heading attaches CITES import and export controls to 6207 99 90 91 and 6207 99 90 99, rather than the briefs lines above. For goods declared under those other lines, confirm the requirement with your customs broker. See the woven boxer shorts guide for the wider heading.

Confirm the commodity code using the fabric construction, fibre composition and garment design. Knitted briefs need a separate classification check. Supply the broker with the fabric specification and a sample or clear photographs before agreeing the declaration.

Specify the brief cut and woven fabric

Specify the main fabric weave, fibre composition, fabric weight and finish, plus the crotch lining material. Agree waist and leg-opening measurements, rise, crotch width, seam positions and waistband construction. Woven fabric can restrict movement, so approve a worn fit sample and agree measurement tolerances before cutting bulk fabric.

For sale in Great Britain, the label must show fibre content, and general product safety rules require safe products. Agree the fibre label, care instructions, size identification and batch reference with the factory. Assess rough seams, abrasive labels and exposed elastic against the approved sample.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 1,000 men's cotton woven briefs; FOB value and freight are hypothetical. under 6207 11 00 00, invoiced at £6,000 free on board, with £800 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £6,800. Duty at 12% is £816. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £7,616, so it is £1,523.20. Import taxes total £2,339.20; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £816 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Fit: measure the waist, rise, crotch width and leg openings across the ordered sizes; compare the shape with the approved worn sample.

Seams and lining: check crotch coverage, skipped stitches, seam puckering, loose threads and edges that rub against the skin.

Waistband and washing: stretch and release the elastic, then wash samples using the agreed care instructions and check recovery, shrinkage and colour transfer.

Labels and packing: compare fibre labels with the fabric specification, check size and batch identification, and inspect cartons for damp or mould. Use the inspection guide to brief the inspector.

What goes wrong

A woven brief can match the waist measurement yet pull tightly across the crotch or leg opening. Washing can make that fit worse, while elastic may twist inside its casing or lose recovery. Reject substitutions of fabric, lining or elastic until a replacement sample has passed the agreed fit and wash checks.

Cambridge China Bridge sources these products for UK businesses, checking the factory and the documents before shipment. See factory verification. For own-brand ranges, see sourcing for brands.