Sourcing worsted wool fabrics from China

Rates by blend and weight

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, woven fabrics of combed wool or combed fine animal hair of heading 5112 carried 8% on goods from China, whether 85% or more wool or blended mainly with man-made filaments or staple fibres, and split by weight at 200 g/m² where the tariff does. Fabrics containing more than 10% silk carried 6%. None had an anti-dumping measure, and the declaration reports square metres.

The heading carries a CITES import control, because fine hairs such as vicuña come from species listed under CITES, so the fibre must be named on the documents; see the [GOV.UK guidance on CITES imports](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/cites-imports-and-exports). Raw cashmere and other hair are covered in our cashmere and animal hair guide.

Testing wool fabric

Specify fibre content, yarn count, weight and finish, and test mass per unit area by ISO 3801, fibre content by the ISO 1833 methods, pilling by ISO 12945-2, dimensional change in dry cleaning by ISO 3175 or washing by ISO 5077, and colour fastness to light by ISO 105-B02 and rubbing by ISO 105-X12.

Garments made from the fabric need a fibre label under the Textile Products (Labelling and Fibre Composition) Regulations 2012, which also governs how terms such as fine wool may be used, so keep the fibre test with the order.

Worked duty example

An invented example rather than a quote: 5,000 m² of worsted wool suiting, 180 g/m², commodity code 5112 11 00 00, bought for £60,000 free on board, with £1,500 of freight and insurance, so £61,500 is the value customs works from. Duty at the 8% rate for worsted wool fabric is £4,920. VAT at 20% applies to £66,420, so £13,284. A VAT-registered buyer usually recovers the VAT, so the border adds £4,920 to the landed cost. See calculating UK import duty and VAT for the method.

What goes wrong

Wool fabrics fail on fibre, handle and stability. A cloth sold as pure wool contains polyester or recycled fibre; weight and handle differ from the approved sample; the fabric pills or felts after wear; relaxation shrinkage or dry-cleaning shrinkage spoils tailored garments; and shade varies between pieces.

Test fibre content, weight, pilling and dimensional stability on each lot, check shade across pieces against the approved standard, inspect cloth on a perching frame for faults, and check piece lengths and labels against the packing list.

Cambridge China Bridge sources worsted and wool-blend fabrics for tailors, uniform makers and fashion brands, including a second mill when an existing supplier's quality slips. See our second-supplier service.