Sourcing nickel titanium wire from China

Nickel titanium wire: 2% duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 1 October 2026, heading 7505 covers nickel bars, rods, profiles and wire. Nickel titanium wire is an alloy product, with nickel-alloy wire listed under 7505 22 00 00 at 2% for goods from China. The supplied tariff record lists no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension. The table shows different supply forms of the same commodity line.

The UK Trade Tariff attaches import and export waste controls to this wire line. For a shipment from China to England under waste notification controls, shipment can start only after consent from the Environment Agency and the other competent authorities involved. Ask your customs broker to confirm the applicable requirement for the material and route before dispatch.

Confirm the commodity code using composition and the actual supplied form. For other products within this heading, see nichrome resistance wire. UK REACH generally applies to substances on their own, in mixtures or in articles; review the obligations relevant to your intended use.

Specify transformation behaviour, not just alloy

State whether you need shape-memory or superelastic behaviour. Specify composition, diameter and tolerance, surface finish, supplied condition, coil or straightened form, and packing. Define the transformation temperature range and the test method used to establish it.

For superelastic wire, agree the loading and unloading behaviour at the intended operating temperature, acceptable permanent set and fatigue test conditions. For shape-memory wire, agree the heat treatment and recovery test. Ask for heat-specific composition and property reports, then trial samples in your own component before approving production.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 2 tonnes of nickel titanium wire for a component manufacturer under 7505 22 00 00, invoiced at £46,000 free on board, with £900 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £46,900. Duty at 2% is £938. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £47,838, so it is £9,567.60. Import taxes total £10,505.60; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £938 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Identity: match heat numbers on coils to the mill certificate and composition report.

Dimensions: measure diameter along sampled lengths and check ovality, straightness and coil condition against the order.

Behaviour: verify transformation temperature and the agreed recovery or loading test on samples from the supplied heat.

Surface and packing: check scratches, pits, contamination, tangled winding and transport kinks. Keep coil labels with the inspection record; see quality inspection.

What goes wrong

Wire can match the stated composition yet behave differently because its processing condition or transformation temperature differs from the approved sample. A room-temperature demonstration alone does not establish performance at your operating temperature.

Other failures include diameter variation, surface damage and certificates that cannot be matched to the delivered coils. Agree acceptance tests before ordering and hold questionable material for investigation. Use factory verification to check the supplier's drawing, heat-treatment and testing capability.

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.