Sourcing spun silk yarn from China

0% duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 17 November 2026, heading 5005 covers yarn spun from silk waste, not put up for retail sale, split into unbleached, scoured or bleached yarn and other yarn, each with a line for yarn spun entirely from noil. All four lines carried 0% on goods from China, with no anti-dumping measure.

Filament silk yarn is covered in our silk yarn guide, and silk noil fibre in our silk waste and noil guide; confirm the commodity code.

Specifying spun silk

Specify spun silk or noil yarn, metric count, ply and twist, evenness and slub level, lustre, dyeing, and cone or hank put-up. Yarn and products sold to consumers need fibre composition labels under the Textile Products (Labelling and Fibre Composition) Regulations 2012, so the fibre content must be tested and stated accurately.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: 300 kg of dyed spun silk yarn under 5005 00 90 90, invoiced at £15,000 free on board, with £200 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £15,200. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £15,200, so it is £3,040. 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

Testing: check count, twist and evenness on sample cones.

Appearance: check neps and slubs against the approved sample.

Colour: compare dye lots. See our quality inspection guide.

What goes wrong

Spun silk orders fail on evenness, noil content and colour. Yarn is more uneven than the sample, noil yarn is supplied as spun silk, and dye lots differ.

Cambridge China Bridge sources yarns and materials for UK mills, makers and craft brands from small lots; see small orders.