Sourcing textile belts and garment parts

6% or 12% duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, other made-up clothing accessories of textile, not knitted, carried 6% duty on goods from China, and parts of garments or clothing accessories carried 12%, with no anti-dumping measure on either. Knitted accessories are in heading 6117, leather belts in heading 4203, and scarves and ties have their own headings, so the fabric and the product decide the commodity code. For suspender belts, see our suspender belt sourcing guide.

Labels, buckles and chemicals

Textile products sold to consumers generally need the fibre composition under the textile labelling rules from Regulation 1007/2011 as it applies in Great Britain, but exemptions include sleeve protectors and textile stiffenings, and entry 43 of REACH Annex XVII restricts azo dyes that release listed amines in parts that touch the skin. Belt buckles and metal tips in prolonged skin contact must meet the nickel release limit in entry 27, tested to EN 1811.

Webbing belts sold for work or outdoor use should state their strength only where tested, and belts for children must not carry cords that breach BS EN 14682. See the buckles, eyelets and rivets guide, the leather belts guide and UK REACH for importers.

Worked duty example

An invented example rather than a quote: 30,000 woven textile belts with metal buckles, commodity code 6217 10 00 90, bought for £36,000 free on board, with £2,000 of freight and insurance, so £38,000 is the value customs works from. Duty at the 6% rate for textile belts is £2,280. VAT at 20% applies to £40,280, so £8,056. A VAT-registered buyer usually recovers the VAT, so the border adds £2,280 to the landed cost. Leather belts pay a different rate under heading 4203, and knitted versions are in heading 6117. See calculating UK import duty and VAT for the method.

What goes wrong

Belts and garment parts fail on the webbing, the hardware and the size. Webbing frays at the cut end because it was not heat-sealed, stitching at the buckle pulls out under load, and buckles release nickel or lose their plating. Sizes run short because the length was measured differently, colours bleed onto clothing in rain, and shoulder pads flatten or shift after washing because the wadding and cover do not hold.

Pull-test buckle stitching and webbing, check cut ends are sealed, test nickel release on buckles and colour fastness to water and rubbing on the webbing, measure lengths against a size chart that states how length is measured, and wash-test shoulder pads and other garment parts in the finished garment before bulk production. For fabric treatment sourcing, see our textile finishing agents guide.

Cambridge China Bridge sources textile belts, sweatbands and garment parts for fashion, workwear and promotional ranges, with pull, nickel and colour tests agreed before production. See our belt and trims sourcing.

Related guides: Hat bands, linings and peaks from China.