Ties, bow ties and cravats from China

6% for woven ties, 12% if knitted

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, ties, bow ties and cravats of silk or silk waste, of man-made fibres and of other textile materials carried 6% duty on goods from China, with hand-made and other lines at the same rate and no anti-dumping measure. Knitted or crocheted ties are classified as knitted clothing accessories under 6117 80 80 00 at 12%.

Because the fibre and the fabric construction change the line, confirm the commodity code from the tie's outer fabric; the lining and interlining do not decide it.

Fibre labels and custom designs

The Textile Products (Labelling and Fibre Composition) Regulations 2012 require the fibre composition to be given using the listed fibre names, so a tie sold as silk must be silk, and a silk-look polyester tie must say polyester. School, club and corporate ties are usually woven jacquard or printed to the buyer's artwork, so the design, colour references and logo placement should be approved on a strike-off before bulk weaving.

Registered designs, club crests and regimental patterns belong to their owners, so an order using them needs the owner's permission. Ties for young children are consumer products under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005, and many school suppliers choose clip-on or pre-tied styles for younger pupils.

Worked duty example

An invented example rather than a quote: 3,000 woven polyester jacquard ties with a company logo, commodity code 6215 20 00 90, bought for £6,000 free on board, with £400 of freight and insurance, so £6,400 is the value customs works from. Duty at the 6% rate for woven ties is £384. VAT at 20% applies to £6,784, so £1,356.80. A VAT-registered buyer usually recovers the VAT, so the border adds £384 to the landed cost. A knitted tie of the same fibre would be entered under 6117 80 80 00 at 12%. See calculating UK import duty and VAT for the method.

What goes wrong

Tie faults are construction faults. The blade twists when the tie hangs because the fabric was not cut on the bias; the interlining is too light so the knot collapses, or too heavy so it will not tie; the slip stitch is pulled too tight and puckers; the logo repeat sits off-centre on the blade; colours drift from the approved strike-off; and silk-look polyester is invoiced as silk.

Check fibre content to the ISO 1833 series or by microscopy, colour fastness to rubbing to ISO 105-X12, to perspiration to ISO 105-E04 and to dry cleaning to ISO 105-D01, then hang sampled ties to check twist, measure length and blade width against the specification, check logo position, bar tacks and keeper loops, and compare colours with the strike-off under the agreed light source.

Cambridge China Bridge sources custom woven and printed ties, bow ties and cravats for schools, clubs, retailers and companies, with a strike-off approved before weaving. See how we handle first orders.