Sourcing steel control cables from China

Customs duty and anti-dumping on control cable

Heading 7312 covers iron or steel stranded wire, ropes and cables that are not electrically insulated, alongside plaited bands, slings and similar goods. The selected lines are candidates for inner control cable. Ask your broker to assess complete sheathed or fitted assemblies separately, using drawings and their application. See finding your commodity code and the wider steel wire rope and cables guide.

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 1 October 2026, all supplied lines carried 0% customs duty for goods from China. Covered non-stainless steel ropes and cables over 3 mm carried a separate 60.4% anti-dumping duty. Stainless cable and the selected smaller cable and stranded-wire lines showed no trade remedy. The supplied data lists no suspensions, countervailing duty or steel trade measure.

The tariff attaches waste import and export controls to some lines, including stainless cable, smaller other cable and other coated steel cable. Waste shipment controls apply only if the material is waste. For scrap or discarded cables from China, the importer should confirm the applicable requirement with their customs broker and the relevant waste regulator before shipment.

Specify travel, routing and cable ends

State whether you need bare inner cable, a pull cable or a complete push-pull assembly. Specify steel grade, strand construction, diameter, coating, lubrication and corrosion exposure. For assemblies, define casing and liner materials, mounting points, adjustment range and the installed route.

Dimension the inner cable and casing separately. Show exposed lengths, end-fitting geometry, threads, ferrules and the datum used to measure travel. Agree operating force, return behaviour, end-fitting retention and durability checks with the factory using the intended routing and load.

For consumer products supplied in Great Britain, the product must be safe in normal or reasonably foreseeable use. Identify the intended application before agreeing the test plan, especially for brake or other safety-related controls. Use testing and certification support to review the application and proposed evidence.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Reels of stainless steel inner control cable for a distributor's stock order, illustrative under 7312 10 20 00, invoiced at £22,000 free on board, with £2,000 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £24,000. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £24,000, so it is £4,800. 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

Dimensions: check inner and casing lengths, exposed ends, travel and fitting geometry against the approved drawing on arrival.

Operation: route samples as installed and check smooth movement, operating force, backlash and return without binding.

Retention: test nipples, swaged ends, ferrules and casing anchors against the agreed loads; look for slip, cracking and loose fittings.

Condition and records: check broken wires, kinks, corrosion, coating damage and lubrication; match batch identification to material and test records. Plan checks through quality inspection.

What goes wrong

A cable can match overall length yet have the wrong exposed length, leaving insufficient adjustment or preventing full travel. Tight bends, a rough liner or misplaced ferrules increase friction. Weakly retained ends can pull free, while an unsuitable inner construction can buckle when used to push.

Approve a sample in the actual mechanism and preserve its drawing and test results as the production reference. Investigate stiffness, poor return and end movement before releasing stock. Confirm the material, cross-section and construction with your broker before costing the order, because a control-cable description alone does not settle anti-dumping exposure.

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.