Sourcing nickel fibre felt from China

UK duty and the waste control

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 2 October 2026, heading 7508 covers other articles of nickel. Both listed lines carry 0% duty for goods from China, with no recorded anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no listed suspension. The table shows commercial felt forms under the same candidate commodity line, rather than separate tariff lines.

The tariff attaches import and export waste controls to 7508 90 00 00. For discarded felt from China, ask your customs broker to confirm the applicable waste procedure before shipment. Where notification controls apply to a shipment into England, consent from the dispatch, destination and transit authorities is needed before shipment.

For fibre felt, confirm whether 7508 90 00 00 describes the supplied article. The separate wire cloth, grill and netting line should not be assumed to cover non-woven felt. Give your broker the composition, manufacturing description, photographs and intended use. See finding your commodity code and our wider nickel foam guide.

Specify the fibre structure and working condition

Specify solid nickel or the named nickel alloy, chemical composition, fibre diameter, sintered or unsintered construction, thickness, mass per area, porosity and sheet or roll dimensions. Identify any backing, binder or surface treatment. Ask for batch-specific material and test records, and retain an approved sample.

For filtration, agree permeability and pressure-drop testing with the intended fluid. For electrode use, agree electrical resistance and compression testing in the intended assembly. State the compression used when measuring thickness so suppliers and inspectors compare like with like.

Check the UK REACH position against the supplied material and its intended use. HSE says substances in articles may require registration if intended to be released during use. Avoid treating a supplier's generic chemical declaration as a substitute for checking the actual product.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Production batch of cut nickel fibre felt sheets for an engineering business, illustrative under 7508 90 00 00, invoiced at £36,000 free on board, with £1,200 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £37,200. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £37,200, so it is £7,440. With no duty, the only import tax is the VAT, which a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Material: compare batch composition results with the order and check a cut section for an unexpected substrate or backing.

Structure: inspect fibre bonding, tears, thin patches, blocked pores and loose fibres against the approved sample.

Performance: measure thickness under the agreed compression, mass per area and the agreed permeability or electrical property.

Packing: check batch labels, dry protective wrapping and support against crushing. Record arrival defects using the quality inspection guide.

What goes wrong

A quotation may describe foam, woven mesh or nickel-coated material as fibre felt. Differences in fibre structure, bonding and compression can change flow or electrical contact even when nominal thickness matches. Require photographs of the structure and test the sample in your own assembly.

Crushed packing can leave permanent thin areas; weak bonding can release fibres during cutting or installation. Agree acceptance criteria before production and compare arrival samples with the retained reference. Check used or discarded material separately with your broker because the tariff attaches a waste control.

Cambridge China Bridge sources these products for UK businesses, checking the factory and the documents before shipment. See factory verification. For repeat volumes, see container programmes.