Customs duty from Germany to United Kingdom: Import Duty Guide

Key Takeaways

• Germany is the UK’s largest single-country source of goods imports - 11.7% of the total in 2025, ahead of China (11.1%).
• The UK imported an estimated £89.8 billion in goods from Germany in the four quarters to the end of 2025, up 3.5% year on year.
• As an EU member, Germany is covered by the EU-UK TCA’s 0% tariff on qualifying originating goods - there’s no separate Germany-specific deal.
• Vehicles, machinery, pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, and electrical equipment are Germany’s largest UK-bound export categories.
• 20% VAT and the £135 duty-free threshold apply the same way they do for any other origin - the TCA only affects customs duty, not VAT.

Germany-UK Trade at a Glance

Germany is the UK’s single largest source of goods imports by country, ahead even of China. The UK imported an estimated £89.8 billion in goods from Germany in the four quarters to the end of 2025, up about 3.5% (£3.1 billion) year on year, and Germany accounted for roughly 11.7% of all UK goods imports in 2025 - its biggest single trading partner by import share and its second-largest trading partner overall, at around 8.0% of total UK trade (gov.uk Germany Trade and Investment Factsheet, July 2026).

The largest categories of German imports into the UK are vehicles and cars, industrial machinery, pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, and electrical equipment - a reflection of Germany’s manufacturing and automotive export base rather than consumer e-commerce volume.

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

Yes, indirectly - Germany is an EU member state, and the EU negotiates trade policy centrally on behalf of all 27 members. That means Germany is covered by the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), the same agreement described on the EU to UK lane page: 0% tariffs and 0% quotas since 1 January 2021 (fully ratified from 1 May 2021), for goods that meet the TCA’s rules of origin and where the importer has claimed preference with the required proof of origin.

There’s no separate Germany-only trade agreement, and none would add anything - German-origin goods get exactly the same TCA treatment as goods from any other EU member state.

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

Genuinely German-originating goods that meet the TCA’s rules of origin pay 0% customs duty, shown as “Active” in the FTA column of the table below wherever this site has sourced product-level data confirming it. 20% VAT and the £135 threshold work exactly as they do for any origin: below £135, VAT only, no duty question either way; above £135, 20% VAT plus whichever duty rate applies (0% if TCA-qualifying, the standard UK Global Tariff MFN rate if the goods don’t meet rules of origin).

Shipping and Customs Practicalities from Germany

Like every EU member, German shipments into the UK require a full UK customs import declaration via the Customs Declaration Service (CDS), a Safety and Security (Entry Summary) declaration, and a GB EORI number - the same post-Brexit requirements described on the EU to UK lane page apply here without exception. Given Germany’s geographic proximity, freight commonly moves by road or rail through the Channel Tunnel or short-sea ferry routes (Dover-Calais, or via Rotterdam/Zeebrugge transshipment) rather than the long-haul air and sea freight typical of non-European origins - a general logistics pattern rather than a formally regulated one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Germany really the UK’s biggest single source of imports?

Yes - Germany supplied around 11.7% of all UK goods imports in 2025, the largest share of any single country, narrowly ahead of China at 11.1%.

Do German goods automatically get 0% duty into the UK?

Only if they meet the EU-UK TCA’s rules of origin and the importer has claimed preference with the required proof - German-made goods generally qualify, but goods merely passing through a German seller or warehouse without genuinely originating there don’t.

Does being in the EU-UK TCA mean Germany has its own separate UK trade deal?

No. The TCA is a single agreement covering all 27 EU member states collectively, including Germany - there’s no country-specific German-UK trade agreement, and none is needed since EU trade policy is set centrally.

What does Germany mainly export to the UK?

Vehicles and cars, industrial machinery, pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, and electrical equipment are Germany’s largest categories of goods exports to the UK, reflecting its manufacturing-heavy economy rather than consumer e-commerce.