Textile dyes and colourants from China

6% on most synthetic dyes

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, synthetic organic colouring matter in heading 3204 carried 6% duty on goods from China, whether disperse dyes for polyester, acid dyes for wool and nylon, basic dyes for acrylic, direct and reactive dyes for cotton, vat dyes, organic pigments or optical brighteners. There was no anti-dumping measure. A 0% line exists only for listed pharmaceutical substances declared with additional code 2500, which does not cover textile dyes.

Many named colourants have suspensions to 31 December 2028, but each applies to one Colour Index name at a stated minimum content, such as C.I. Disperse Yellow 241 at 97% or more or C.I. Acid Blue 9 at 50% or more, and some require authorised use. Standardised commercial dyes cut with salt or dispersant often fall below the purity condition, so match the product's content to the footnote before claiming it, and confirm the commodity code.

UK REACH, CLP and the azo dye restriction

A GB importer of a dye is the manufacturer's stand-in under UK REACH: substances imported at one tonne or more a year need registration or a valid transitional notification, unless a UK-based only representative appointed by the Chinese maker holds it. Every consignment needs a safety data sheet in English and labels under GB CLP, and many reactive dyes are classified as respiratory sensitisers, which changes the pictograms and warehouse handling. Read our UK REACH guide for importers.

Annex XVII entry 43 of REACH restricts azocolourants that can release any of the listed aromatic amines: textile and leather articles in skin contact must not release them above 30 mg/kg, tested by EN ISO 14362-1, and one listed blue azo dye mixture may not be placed on the market for colouring textiles. A dye house that buys a cheap azo dye passes the problem to the garment. Our pigments guide covers inorganic pigments and titanium dioxide.

Worked duty example

Suppose, purely for illustration, you import 5 tonnes of reactive dye powder under 3204 16 00 90. At £30,000 free on board and £2,000 to ship and insure, the customs value is £32,000. Reactive dyes at 6% pay £1,920 of duty; VAT is then worked out on value plus duty, £33,920, giving £6,784. Of the £8,704 paid at import, only the £1,920 of duty stays a cost for a VAT-registered business. Named colourants that meet a suspension's purity condition, such as C.I. Pigment Orange 34 at 70% or more, can enter at 0% with document 9Y12, so check the footnotes before costing. The method is set out in how UK import duty and VAT work.

What goes wrong

Dye problems appear in the dye house, not at the port. A lot is weaker than the approved standard, so recipes need more dye, or the shade is off on the same recipe, reactive dyes hydrolyse in damp storage, powders cake, and a dye made with a restricted amine intermediate shows up when a retailer tests the finished garment. Labels and safety data sheets that do not match GB CLP stop goods at the warehouse.

Keep a retained standard for each dye and test every lot against it: dye a lab swatch side by side, measure colour difference in CIELAB with the ISO 105-J03 method and strength by spectrophotometer, check moisture and insoluble matter, and test fastness on the dyed fabric to ISO 105-C06 for washing and ISO 105-B02 for light. Ask for an amine test to EN ISO 14362-1 on dyed fabric, and check the safety data sheet and labels before shipment.

Cambridge China Bridge sources dyes and pigments for dye houses, printers and ink makers, with lot-to-standard testing and UK REACH and CLP paperwork checked before the goods ship. Talk to us about dye and colourant supply.