5401.10: Sewing thread of man-made filaments, whether: of synthetic filaments

Official description Of synthetic filaments

5401.10 is a six-digit subheading of heading 5401, sewing thread of man-made filaments, whether or not put up for retail sale, chapter 54.

Importing into Country of origin

What you pay

Importing into UK

Customs duty 4% standard rate · across 6 national lines depends on the country of origin

Additional duties and charges 2 additional measures Import requirements: 4

VAT 20.00 % import VAT

Duty calculatorCalculate duty and taxes →

Rates by national line · UK Global Tariff

UK lines →

5401 10 00 00 Of synthetic filaments
Not put up for retail sale
Core yarn
5401 10 12 00 Polyester filament surrounded by cotton fibres 4%
5401 10 14 00 Other 4%
5401 10 14 10 Core yarn of high tenacity polyester filament surrounded by polyester staple fibres: -with a twist of 410 tpm or more but not more than 1200 tpm, -with a linear density of 200 dtex or more but not more than 1500 dtex, -with an average tenacity of 46 cn/tex or more, -with an elongation at break of 13% or more but not more than 23%, -wound on a perforated dyeing tube, -with a weight, including tube, of 900 g or more 4%
5401 10 14 90 Other 4%
Other
5401 10 16 00 Textured yarn 4%
5401 10 18 00 Other 4%
5401 10 90 00 Put up for retail sale 4%

Additional duties and import rules

Charges on top of the customs duty, and rules the goods must meet at the border.

Additional duties and charges 2

Duty suspensionSuspension - goods for certain categories of ships, boats and other vessels and for drilling or production platforms Free
Applies to goods from
all countries

Legal act
2020 No. 1431
Documents
- C990 End use authorisation ships and platforms (Column 8c, Annex A of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446)
Tariff lines
on 5 of 6 lines
Duty suspensionAirworthiness tariff suspension Free
Applies to goods from
all countries

Legal act
S.I. 2018/1249
Documents
- C119 Authorised Release Certificate — EASA Form 1 (Appendix I to Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 748/2012), or equivalent certificate

Import requirements 4

Prohibition or restrictionImport prohibition

Applies to goods from
North Korea

Legal act
S.I. 2019/411
Import controlRestriction on entry into free circulation
Applies to goods from
Ukraine

Legal act
S.I. 2022/395
Documents
- 9009
- 9010
- 9017
Import controlRestriction on entry into free circulation
Applies to goods from
North Korea

Legal act
S.I. 2019/411
Documents
- Y084 Derogation from import prohibition by virtue of Article 16i (1) of Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1509
Import controlImport control on restricted goods and technologies
Applies to goods from
Iran

Legal act
S.I. 2019/461
Documents
- Y966 Goods other than those described in the MG footnotes linked to the measure (Missile Technology Control Regime list - Annex III of Reg. (EU) 267/2012)

Preferential rates by country

Agreement or scheme	Countries	Rate
standard rate (no agreement)	—	4%
DCTS Comprehensive	Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin and 38 more Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo - Kinshasa, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Laos, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé & Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia	Free
European Union (including code "EU")	Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia and 23 more Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden	Free
DCTS Enhanced	Algeria, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Congo - Brazzaville and 13 more Algeria, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Congo - Brazzaville, Cook Islands, Kyrgyzstan, Micronesia, Mongolia, Nigeria, Niue, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu	Free
CARIFORUM	Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize and 10 more Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago	Free
OCTs (Overseas Countries and Territories)	Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands and 7 more Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands, St Helena, Turks & Caicos Islands	Free
Central America	Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama	Free
SADC EPA	Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia	Free
Eastern and Southern Africa States	Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Zimbabwe	Free
CPTPP	Brunei, Malaysia	Free
UK–Andorra agreement	Andorra	Free
UK–Albania agreement	Albania	Free
UK–Australia agreement	Australia	Free
UK–Canada agreement	Canada	Free
UK–Switzerland agreement	Switzerland	Free
UK–Côte d’Ivoire agreement	Côte d’Ivoire	Free
UK–Chile agreement	Chile	Free
UK–Cameroon agreement	Cameroon	Free
UK–Colombia agreement	Colombia	Free
UK–Ceuta & Melilla agreement	Ceuta & Melilla	Free
UK–Ecuador agreement	Ecuador	Free
UK–Egypt agreement	Egypt	Free
UK–Fiji agreement	Fiji	Free
UK–Faroe Islands agreement	Faroe Islands	Free
UK–Georgia agreement	Georgia	Free
UK–Ghana agreement	Ghana	Free
UK–Israel agreement	Israel	Free
UK–India agreement	India	Free
UK–Iceland agreement	Iceland	Free
UK–Jordan agreement	Jordan	Free
UK–Japan agreement	Japan	Free
UK–Kenya agreement	Kenya	Free
UK–South Korea agreement	South Korea	Free
UK–Lebanon agreement	Lebanon	Free
UK–Liechtenstein agreement	Liechtenstein	Free
UK–Morocco agreement	Morocco	Free
UK–Moldova agreement	Moldova	Free
UK–North Macedonia agreement	North Macedonia	Free
UK–Mexico agreement	Mexico	Free
UK–Norway agreement	Norway	Free
UK–New Zealand agreement	New Zealand	Free
UK–Peru agreement	Peru	Free
UK–Papua New Guinea agreement	Papua New Guinea	Free
UK–Palestinian Territories agreement	Palestinian Territories	Free
UK–Serbia agreement	Serbia	Free
UK–Solomon Islands agreement	Solomon Islands	Free
UK–Singapore agreement	Singapore	Free
UK–San Marino agreement	San Marino	Free
UK–Tunisia agreement	Tunisia	Free
UK–Türkiye agreement	Türkiye	Free
UK–Ukraine agreement	Ukraine	Free
UK–Vietnam agreement	Vietnam	Free
UK–Samoa agreement	Samoa	Free
UK–Kosovo agreement	Kosovo	Free
UK–South Africa agreement	South Africa	Free
DCTS Standard	Indonesia	3.2%

UK: imports by month

last 12 months£8.4m-5.6% · previous 12 months

Average import price£19.31 per kg

Data up to August 2026 (provisional) · Monthly data: Eurostat Comext (CC BY 4.0), HMRC (OGL v3.0)

Main suppliers, last 12 months

Country	Value	Share	Change
China	£2.8m	32.8%	+1.1%
Egypt	£2.6m	31%	+48.4%
Germany	£1.2m	14.2%	-38.5%
Türkiye	£432k	5.1%	-2.3%
India	£345k	4.1%	-44.2%
Vietnam	£227k	2.7%	+14.9%
United States	£224k	2.6%	-54.8%
Netherlands	£204k	2.4%	+8.6%

Same subheading in other tariffs

EU 4% – 5% Third-country duty 5 tariff lines · average 4.2%

Türkiye 4% – 5% Third-country duty 5 tariff lines · average 4.2%

USA 11.4% General (MFN) 1 tariff line

World trade in 2024

5401.10 · US$1bn

Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$303kUS$303k+US$3m+US$18m+> US$42m

Exports: 136

China: US$389m
Germany: US$139m
United States: US$80m
Romania: US$42m
Türkiye: US$36m
Italy: US$34m
United Kingdom: US$33m
Vietnam: US$29m
Egypt: US$24m
India: US$22m
Japan: US$18m
Honduras: US$18m
Hong Kong SAR China: US$18m
South Korea: US$16m
Mexico: US$16m
Czechia: US$15m
Spain: US$11m
Hungary: US$10m
Taiwan: US$10m
Thailand: US$10m
Brazil: US$7m
Netherlands: US$7m
France: US$7m
Costa Rica: US$6m
Guatemala: US$6m
Poland: US$6m
Indonesia: US$5m
Portugal: US$5m
Mauritius: US$5m
Austria: US$4m
Slovenia: US$3m
Dominican Republic: US$3m
Bulgaria: US$3m
Slovakia: US$3m
Israel: US$2m
Canada: US$2m
Sri Lanka: US$2m
Oman: US$2m
South Africa: US$1m
Malaysia: US$1m
Sweden: US$1m
Belgium: US$1m
Denmark: US$1m
Lithuania: US$1m
Colombia: US$962k
Switzerland: US$889k
Tunisia: US$819k
Singapore: US$768k
Nicaragua: US$705k
Greece: US$694k
Russia: US$622k
El Salvador: US$613k
Latvia: US$579k
Pakistan: US$540k
Belarus: US$482k
Ireland: US$471k
Serbia: US$466k
Ecuador: US$392k
Morocco: US$392k
Croatia: US$365k

Top exporters

Rank	Country	Value	Share
1	China	US$389m	36.4%
2	Germany	US$139m	13%
3	United States	US$80m	7.5%
4	Romania	US$42m	3.9%
5	Türkiye	US$36m	3.4%
6	Italy	US$34m	3.2%
7	United Kingdom	US$33m	3.1%
8	Vietnam	US$29m	2.7%
9	Egypt	US$24m	2.2%
10	India	US$22m	2.1%

Top importers

Rank	Country	Value	Share
1	Mexico	US$87m	8.1%
2	Germany	US$76m	7.1%
3	Vietnam	US$74m	6.9%
4	United States	US$46m	4.3%
5	Cambodia	US$40m	3.7%
6	Romania	US$32m	3%
7	Italy	US$28m	2.6%
8	Nicaragua	US$25m	2.3%
9	China	US$24m	2.2%
10	Poland	US$23m	2.2%

Binding rulings for similar goods 1

Decisions of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CROSS) and HMRC (Advance Tariff Rulings) on goods classified here. A ruling binds only its holder, but shows how the authorities classify similar goods. The descriptions are the authorities’ own, in English.

N300331 U.S. CBP 26 September 2018 · 5401.10.00.00

The tariff classification, country of origin and status under the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) for a textile wrist wrap and a textile abdominal binder from El Salvador

In the UK Global Tariff, subheading 5401.10 covers 6 tariff lines and the duty is 4%.

The EU Combined Nomenclature divides subheading 5401.10 into 5 tariff lines; the duty is between 4% and 5% (average 4.2%).

Goods from 174 countries can enter the UK at a preferential rate instead of the standard 4%; 173 of them pay no duty at all, for example under DCTS Comprehensive or European Union.

In the 12 months to August 2026, the UK imported these goods worth £8.4m (down 6% on the year before), at an average of £19.31 per kg; China supplied 33%, followed by Egypt.

World trade in these goods reached US$1bn in 2024, down 0.5% on 2023.

China was the largest exporter with 36.4% of the total, ahead of Germany.

Questions and answers

What is the HS code for sewing thread of man-made filaments, whether: of synthetic filaments?

Sewing thread of man-made filaments, whether: of synthetic filaments fall under HS subheading 5401.10, part of heading 5401, in section XI of the Harmonized System.

What is the import duty on sewing thread of man-made filaments in the UK?

Under the UK Global Tariff, imports under 5401.10 from countries without a preferential agreement are charged at 4%. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.

What is the import duty on sewing thread of man-made filaments in the EU?

Under the EU Combined Nomenclature, imports under 5401.10 from countries without a preferential agreement are charged at 4% to 5%, depending on the line. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.

Which country exports the most sewing thread of man-made filaments?

China, with US$389m in 2024 (36.4% of world exports).

Which countries can export these goods to the UK duty-free?

173 countries pay no duty under a trade agreement or preference scheme, among them partners under DCTS Comprehensive, European Union, DCTS Enhanced. The goods must meet the agreement’s rules of origin and the importer needs proof of origin; otherwise the standard rate of 4% applies. Pick a country above to see its rate.

Where does the UK import these goods from?

In the 12 months to August 2026, the largest suppliers were China (33%), Egypt (31%) and Germany (14%), out of total imports of £8.4m.