Textile machinery parts and needles from China

0% duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 27 September 2026, auxiliary machinery for textile machines, such as dobbies, jacquards and stop motions, and parts and accessories of spinning, weaving and knitting machines, heading 8448, carried 0% on goods from China on all twelve lines, with no anti-dumping measure.

Sewing machine needles are parts of sewing machines under heading 8452, and hand knitting needles are in 7319 (see our sewing needles and pins guide). The machines themselves are covered in our guides to spinning machines, looms and knitting machines.

Fit and interchangeability

Parts must match the machine they go into, so the buyer's specification is the drawing or reference part number from the machine maker. Needles and sinkers are specified by gauge, length, butt position and hook shape; reeds by dents per unit length and height; card clothing by wire profile and point density; rings and travellers by ring diameter, flange and traveller number.

Industrial spares sold to businesses fall under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 only where consumers could use them, so in practice the contract and the machine maker's specification set the standard.

Specifying parts

Send the machine make and model, the part reference, a sample or drawing, the steel grade and hardness, surface finish or coating, tolerances, marking, packing per box and corrosion protection. For needles, agree a trial on one machine before a bulk order.

Worked duty example

Suppose, purely for illustration, you import 500,000 circular knitting machine needles under 8448 51 90 00. At £30,000 free on board and £1,500 to ship and insure, the customs value is £31,500. With 0% duty on knitting needles, the only charge is import VAT: 20% of £31,500, or £6,300. VAT-registered businesses usually recover that in their next return. The method is set out in how UK import duty and VAT work.

Inspection checklist

Dimensions: measure sampled needles, sinkers, reed dents or rings against the drawing with gauges or an optical comparator, and check straightness and hook or latch shape on needles.

Hardness and finish: check hardness by a Vickers test to ISO 6507-1 against the agreed range, and check surface finish for burrs that would cut yarn.

Running trial and packing: run a set in one machine to check yarn breaks, fabric faults and wear over an agreed time, and check parts are oiled or packed against corrosion.

What goes wrong

Textile spares fail on precision and hardness. Needles vary in butt or hook dimensions so they cause holes or drop stitches, parts are soft and wear fast or brittle and break, burrs cut yarn, and reeds or card clothing do not match the machine's specification.

Measure samples against the drawing, test hardness and run a trial set before bulk orders. See our quality inspection guide.

Cambridge China Bridge sources textile machinery spares for UK mills and dealers, and can add a second supplier alongside the machine maker's parts. See second supplier.