Sending Clothing from the UK to USA — Tariffs, HS Codes & Costs 2026

To ship clothing from the UK to the USA in 2026: use the correct HS code (61.xx knitted, 62.xx woven), expect 25-42% all-in US duty (the 15-32% HS rate plus the 10% UK-origin surcharge), and ship DDP via UPS Worldwide Economy from £12.80 a 1kg parcel. Apparel sits in the higher-duty end of the spectrum, but the British-brand premium still supports the maths for most UK fashion sellers.

This is the realistic guide for UK clothing brands, indie designers, vintage resellers, and small-batch makers selling into America.

The HS Code Basics for Clothing

The harmonised tariff code system splits clothing into two big buckets:

• Chapter 61: Knitted or crocheted garments. This is most casual clothing — t-shirts, jumpers, polo shirts, leggings, sweatshirts, knitted dresses.
• Chapter 62: Woven garments. Tailored shirts, suits, jeans (denim is woven), woven dresses, formal wear, jackets.

Within those chapters, the next digits split by gender, garment type, and fibre. For example:

• 6109.10 — Men’s or boys’ knitted cotton t-shirts
• 6110.20 — Knitted cotton jumpers
• 6203.42 — Men’s woven cotton trousers
• 6204.62 — Women’s woven cotton trousers
• 6403.99 — Footwear (different chapter — Chapter 64)

Use HMRC’s tariff tool to find the exact code. Wrong codes mean wrong duty, customs delays, or rejections.

Typical US Duty Rates by Category

Apparel duty is one of the highest categories the US applies to consumer imports. Approximate rates:

Synthetic fibres get hit hardest. Natural fibres (cotton, wool, silk) are lower. If you’re designing for a US market, consider this in fibre choice when margins are tight.

These are the HS-code rates; the origin-based US tariff surcharge — 10% for UK-made garments (the July 2026 successor to the expired Section 122 baseline) — is added on top, so a 16.5% cotton t-shirt lands at 26.5% all-in. To pin down your exact rate before you ship, run the garment through the UK to US duty calculator or check the full code with the HS code lookup. A 60/40 poly-cotton top and a 100% cotton one look identical on the hanger but can differ by 15 percentage points of duty.

Fibre Content Is a Customs Document, Not Just a Label

This is the part most UK sellers miss, and it’s where apparel differs from every other category. Because US duty on clothing is driven by fibre — cotton one rate, synthetic another — US Customs treats the fibre content on your label as part of the declaration. Get it wrong and CBP can reclassify the shipment at the higher rate, or hold it.

Two separate obligations apply, and you need both:

1. The garment label (FTC rules). Under the US Textile Fiber Products Identification Act, every garment sold in the US must carry a permanent label showing:

• Fibre content by weight, in descending order, using generic names (“60% cotton, 40% polyester” — not brand or trade names).
• Country of origin — “Made in UK”, or the actual country of manufacture if you produce abroad. This is where it was made, not where you posted it from.
• The identity of the manufacturer or importer — a company name, or an FTC-issued RN (Registered Identification Number). Care labelling is required too, under the FTC Care Labeling Rule.

2. The customs declaration. The HS code and value on the commercial invoice must match what the label says. If the label reads “100% cotton” but you’ve classified it as a synthetic knit, that mismatch is exactly what triggers a customs query.

The practical rule: classify off the actual fibre composition, make the garment label and the customs description agree, and keep the country of origin honest. A £30 t-shirt held for a fortnight over a labelling mismatch costs you far more than the duty ever would.

Pricing: Realistic Shipping Costs for Clothing

A typical clothing parcel weighs 300g (single t-shirt) to 2kg (jumper plus joggers boxed up). Real 2026 platform rates:

Duty is on top. For a £60 cotton jumper, all-in US duty is around £16 (16.5% HS rate plus the 10% UK-origin surcharge). Bundled into the DDP service, the customer sees one shipping line at checkout and pays nothing more at the door.

Why DDP Is Non-Negotiable for Apparel

Pre-2025, you could ship a £45 t-shirt under the $800 de minimis and your US customer paid nothing in duty. That’s over. The de minimis exemption ended on 29 August 2025 (Executive Order 14324), so every parcel now owes duty from the first dollar — the apparel HTS rate above, plus the 10% UK-origin tariff surcharge on top (the July 2026 successor to the expired Section 122 baseline). Build both into your numbers.

Three outcomes if you don’t ship DDP:

1. UPS or USPS chases the customer for duty plus a brokerage fee — they refuse to pay.
2. Parcel returns to UK at your cost.
3. Your customer leaves a 1-star review about “surprise customs charges.”

DDP services pre-pay the duty at label generation. Customer pays checkout total, parcel arrives clean. No surprise.

Sizing Returns: The Apparel Killer

The other huge consideration for UK-to-USA fashion is returns. American buyers expect easy returns and US sizing conventions. UK sizing differs:

• UK 10 = US 6 (women’s)
• UK 14 = US 10 (women’s)
• UK Medium often runs smaller than US Medium

Strategies to reduce returns:

1. Show US sizing on US-facing storefronts. Shopify Markets handles this.
2. Include a size chart in cm/inches on every product page.
3. Use realistic body measurements in your size guide, not vanity sizing.
4. Stock model-shot photography in multiple sizes to set expectations.

For unavoidable returns, the maths often doesn’t work for transatlantic shipping — our full guide on handling US returns as a UK seller covers the options in detail. In short, most UK fashion brands selling to the US either:

• Offer return-free refunds under £50
• Partner with a US returns aggregator (parcel-forwarders who consolidate returns)
• Set up a US-based returns warehouse once volume justifies it

Brand Categories That Thrive Selling UK to USA

UK fashion has specific positioning advantages in the US market:

• Premium high street (Reiss, Whistles, AllSaints) — better value than US Bloomingdale’s tier
• Heritage and tweed (Barbour, Burberry, Harris Tweed) — Americans pay a premium
• Indie streetwear (Palace, Trapstar) — culturally desirable
• Designer rentals/resale — UK indie boutiques have inventory US can’t get
• Tailoring and bespoke — Savile Row remains aspirational
• Outdoor and country sports — niche but profitable

The brand-story margin covers the shipping + duty maths for most of these.

How TradeWind Helps Apparel Brands

TradeWind gives UK clothing sellers access to UPS WWE DDP rates without setting up a UPS account. Connect Shopify or Etsy, US orders import with HS codes pre-mapped to your product catalogue, and you book DDP labels in one click.

For bulk wholesale to US distributors or showroom orders, TradeWind’s business USA shipping handles freight and high-volume DDP for boxes of stock.

Setting Up Properly: A Quick Checklist

If you’re a UK fashion brand starting US sales tomorrow:

1. Audit your HS codes. Every product needs one. Aim for 10-digit accuracy.
2. Add country of origin to every product (where it was made, not where you ship from).
3. Enable DDP shipping at checkout — flat-rate or calculated.
4. Show US sizing on US-targeted product pages.
5. Write a clear returns policy — set US-buyer expectations.
6. Price-test US-bound product pricing to absorb a portion of duty into MSRP.
7. Use a shipping platform (TradeWind, ShipStation, etc) to automate label generation.

The Bottom Line

UK apparel to USA in 2026 is more expensive than pre-de-minimis but absolutely viable. Get HS codes right, ship DDP from £12.80 a parcel with UPS Worldwide Economy via TradeWind, manage sizing returns intelligently, and lean on the British-brand premium that genuinely commands a higher price in the US market.

The brands that win are the ones that treat duty and shipping as fixed cost lines — not surprises — and price for the right unit economics from day one.

Sources

• HMRC Trade Tariff — Chapters 61 and 62
• US International Trade Commission Tariff Database
• US Customs & Border Protection