Subheading · Chapter 55 · Heading 5514

5514.21

5514.21: Of polyester staple fibres, plain weave

Subheading 5514.21 belongs to heading 5514 (woven fabrics of synthetic staple fibres, containing less than 85 % by weight…) in chapter 55.

What you pay

Importing into UK

Customs duty 8% standard rate 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 →
  1. 5514 21 00 00 Of polyester staple fibres, plain weave 8%m²

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)
  • 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 schemeCountriesRate
standard rate (no agreement)—8%
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 6.4%

UK: imports by month

last 12 months£480k+203% · previous 12 months
Average import price£5.67 per kg
Jan 2024: £40kFeb 2024: £15kMar 2024: £38kApr 2024: £6kMay 2024: £10kJun 2024: £28kJul 2024: £4kAug 2024: £1kSept 2024: £3kOct 2024: £16kNov 2024: £16kDec 2024: £13kJan 2025: £52kFeb 2025: £8kMar 2025: £6kApr 2025: £22kMay 2025: £10kJun 2025: £7kJul 2025: £2kAug 2025: £5kSept 2025: £38kOct 2025: £38kNov 2025: £61kDec 2025: £36kJan 2026: £8kFeb 2026: £45kMar 2026: £35kApr 2026: £105kMay 2026: £50kJul 2026: £57kAug 2026: £7k 202420252026
Data up to August 2026 (provisional) · Monthly data: Eurostat Comext (CC BY 4.0), HMRC (OGL v3.0)

Main suppliers, last 12 months

CountryValueShareChange
India £127k 26.4% +168.4%
Italy £115k 23.9% —
China £108k 22.4% +745.5%
Pakistan £95k 19.9% +211.5%
Malaysia £22k 4.5% -14%
Türkiye £9k 1.8% -10.6%
Czechia £5k 1% -4.3%
France £0 0% -100%

Same subheading in other tariffs

World trade in 2024

5514.21 · US$197.3m

Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$124.1kUS$124.1k+US$744.9k+US$2.6m+> US$8.7m

Exports: 67
  1. China: US$147.4m
  2. United States: US$8.7m
  3. South Korea: US$6.8m
  4. Taiwan: US$5.1m
  5. Germany: US$4.2m
  6. Japan: US$4.2m
  7. India: US$2.6m
  8. Spain: US$2m
  9. France: US$1.8m
  10. Italy: US$1.5m
  11. Pakistan: US$1.5m
  12. Chile: US$1.5m
  13. Belgium: US$1.2m
  14. South Africa: US$1.1m
  15. El Salvador: US$1.1m
  16. Netherlands: US$915.4k
  17. Indonesia: US$744.9k
  18. United Kingdom: US$667.2k
  19. Romania: US$502.4k
  20. Türkiye: US$396.1k
  21. Russia: US$328k
  22. Australia: US$297.6k
  23. Poland: US$285.4k
  24. Egypt: US$267.3k
  25. New Zealand: US$232.9k
  26. Hong Kong SAR China: US$229k
  27. Estonia: US$207.5k
  28. Malaysia: US$175.8k
  29. Vietnam: US$150.9k
  30. Portugal: US$149k
  31. Thailand: US$128.7k
  32. Mexico: US$124.5k
  33. Colombia: US$124.1k
  34. Sweden: US$95.2k
  35. Canada: US$81.1k
  36. Austria: US$79.2k
  37. Honduras: US$78.3k
  38. Bulgaria: US$63.5k
  39. Singapore: US$59.2k
  40. Morocco: US$57.9k
  41. Slovenia: US$53.5k
  42. Czechia: US$47.9k
  43. Bosnia & Herzegovina: US$38k
  44. Switzerland: US$32.4k
  45. Guatemala: US$25.5k
  46. Nicaragua: US$24.8k
  47. Denmark: US$22.8k
  48. Finland: US$21k
  49. Lithuania: US$20.9k
  50. Latvia: US$15.5k
  51. Jamaica: US$10.4k
  52. Israel: US$7k
  53. Eswatini: US$6.6k
  54. United Arab Emirates: US$6.5k
  55. Hungary: US$6.2k
  56. Greece: US$5.7k
  57. Peru: US$4.3k
  58. Sri Lanka: US$3.2k
  59. North Macedonia: US$3k
  60. Bangladesh: US$2.2k

Top exporters

RankCountryValueShare
1 China US$147.4m 74.7%
2 United States US$8.7m 4.4%
3 South Korea US$6.8m 3.5%
4 Taiwan US$5.1m 2.6%
5 Germany US$4.2m 2.1%
6 Japan US$4.2m 2.1%
7 India US$2.6m 1.3%
8 Spain US$2m 1%
9 France US$1.8m 0.9%
10 Italy US$1.5m 0.8%

Top importers

RankCountryValueShare
1 Vietnam US$105m 53.2%
2 Mexico US$9.2m 4.7%
3 Bangladesh US$8.3m 4.2%
4 Russia US$4.4m 2.2%
5 China US$4.2m 2.1%
6 Indonesia US$3.2m 1.6%
7 South Africa US$3.1m 1.6%
8 Morocco US$2.8m 1.4%
9 Cambodia US$2.7m 1.4%
10 Zimbabwe US$2.7m 1.4%

The UK Global Tariff has one tariff line for subheading 5514.21; the duty is 8%.

Subheading 5514.21 is a single line in the EU Combined Nomenclature, where the duty is 8%.

173 countries pay no duty in the UK thanks to trade agreements and preference schemes such as DCTS Comprehensive and European Union, against a standard rate of 8%.

Imports of these goods into the UK came to £480.1k between September 2025 and August 2026 (up 203% on the year before); India supplied 26%, followed by Italy.

In 2024, countries exported these goods worth US$197.3m (+99.4% year on year).

The largest exporter was China (US$147.4m), followed by the United States.

Questions and answers

What is the HS code for of polyester staple fibres, plain weave?

Of polyester staple fibres, plain weave fall under HS subheading 5514.21, part of heading 5514, in section XI of the Harmonized System.

What is the import duty on of polyester staple fibres, plain weave in the UK?

Under the UK Global Tariff, imports under 5514.21 from countries without a preferential agreement are charged at 8%. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.

What is the import duty on of polyester staple fibres, plain weave in the EU?

Under the EU Combined Nomenclature, imports under 5514.21 from countries without a preferential agreement are charged at 8%. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.

Which country exports the most of polyester staple fibres, plain weave?

China, with US$147.4m in 2024 (74.7% 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 8% 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 India (26%), Italy (24%) and China (22%), out of total imports of £480.1k.