Customs duty from China to United Kingdom: Import Duty Guide

Key Takeaways

• China and the UK have no bilateral free trade agreement - imports pay the UK’s standard MFN tariff under the UK Global Tariff, the same rate charged to any other WTO country without a UK trade deal.
• China was the UK’s 2nd largest single source of goods imports in 2025, at 11.1% of the total, behind only Germany.
• The UK imported an estimated £69.7 billion in goods from China in the four quarters to the end of 2025, up 3.5% year on year.
• The volume of low-value China-origin e-commerce parcels is a named driver behind the UK’s 2026-2028 reform of the £135 customs duty relief - the exemption isn’t gone yet, but it’s confirmed to be phased out.
• As with any origin, orders under £135 pay 20% VAT only; above £135, VAT plus customs duty plus a courier handling fee all apply.

China-UK Trade at a Glance

China is the UK’s second-largest single source of goods imports, behind only Germany. In the four quarters to the end of 2025, the UK imported roughly £73.4 billion in total goods and services from China, of which around £69.7 billion (94.9%) was goods - up about 3.5% year on year (gov.uk China Trade and Investment Factsheet, June 2026). China accounted for roughly 11.1% of all UK goods imports in 2025.

The largest categories of China-origin imports are electrical and electronic equipment and machinery, alongside a substantial and fast-growing volume of low-value consumer parcels - clothing, accessories, homeware, and small electronics bought directly by individual shoppers through e-commerce platforms rather than imported in bulk by a business.

Is There a Free Trade Agreement Between China and the UK?

No. China and the UK have never concluded a bilateral free trade agreement, and none is currently in force or under active negotiation toward conclusion. A House of Lords committee formally recommended in 2023 that the UK should not pursue an FTA with China at this time (House of Lords International Relations and Defence Committee). A January 2026 meeting between the UK Prime Minister and China’s leadership launched a narrower “Bilateral Services Partnership” and a feasibility study into a possible future services agreement, but this is not a goods trade deal and doesn’t touch customs duty (gov.uk).

Practically, this means every China-origin order pays the UK’s standard Most Favoured Nation (MFN) tariff under the UK Global Tariff - the FTA column in the duty rates table below shows “not applicable” for every product category, since no China-specific preferential rate exists.

How Much Will You Pay Importing from China to the UK?

The mechanics are the UK’s standard ones - there’s no China-specific rate structure. Below £135 (CIF value: goods plus shipping plus insurance), only 20% VAT applies, with no customs duty at all. Above £135, you pay 20% VAT plus the category-specific MFN customs duty rate shown in the table below, plus a courier handling fee typically in the £8-25 range.

Because China has no FTA with the UK, there’s no scenario where you’d get a lower “preferential” rate on a China-origin order the way you might on goods genuinely originating in the EU or another UK trade-agreement partner - the MFN rate in the table below is the rate you’ll actually pay, above the threshold.

Shipping and Customs Practicalities from China

The scale of low-value parcel imports from China - via marketplaces built around direct-to-consumer international shipping - is explicitly cited by the UK government as a driver of its ongoing reform of the £135 relief. As of this writing, the exemption is still in effect, but the government has confirmed its intent to phase it out on a timeline running through October 2028, introducing a “fiscal representative” requirement for overseas sellers along the way (gov.uk, Reforming the customs treatment of low value imports).

China-to-UK parcels typically move through Royal Mail’s commercial import channel or dedicated China-UK parcel consolidators, and require a standard CN22 or CN23 customs declaration on the outbound side, same as any international postal shipment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does China have any special trade deal with the UK that lowers duty?

No. There’s no bilateral UK-China free trade agreement, so China-origin goods always pay the UK’s standard MFN tariff rate under the UK Global Tariff, the same as imports from any other country without a UK trade agreement.

Why is China’s low-value parcel volume relevant to UK customs policy?

The scale of individual, low-value parcels shipped directly from China-based e-commerce platforms to UK shoppers is a factor the UK government has cited in its ongoing reform of the £135 customs duty relief, which is being phased out on a timeline running through October 2028.

Is China really the UK’s second-biggest import source?

Yes - China accounted for about 11.1% of UK goods imports in 2025, ranking second only to Germany (11.7%), based on the UK government’s own trade and investment factsheets.

Will a China-origin order under £135 ever attract customs duty?

Not under the current rules - orders under £135 pay 20% VAT only, with no customs duty at all, regardless of origin. That threshold itself is under confirmed reform, though, so this may not remain true indefinitely.