Subheading · Chapter 82 · Heading 8208
8208.90: Knives and cutting blades, for machines or for mechanical: other
Other machine knives and blades
Official description Other
8208.90 is the HS subheading for other machine knives and blades, under heading 8208 in chapter 82.
What you pay
Importing into UK
Rates by national line · UK Global Tariff
UK lines →- 8208 90 00 00 Other Free
Additional duties and import rules
Charges on top of the customs duty, and rules the goods must meet at the border.
Import requirements 2
- Prohibition or restrictionImport prohibition on goods for torture and repression
- Applies to goods from
- all countries
- Legal act
- S.I. 2020/1479
- Documents
- C064 Authorisation for export or import of goods that could be used for torture (Regulation (EU) 2019/125)
- Y904 Goods other than those described in the TR footnotes linked to the measure
- Import controlRestriction on entry into free circulation
- Applies to goods from
- Russia, Ukraine
- Legal act
- S.I. 2019/855, S.I. 2022/395
- Documents
- 9011
- 9022
- 9064
- 9009
- 9010
- 9017
Preferential rates by country
| Agreement or scheme | Countries | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| standard rate (no agreement) | — | Free |
| DCTS Comprehensive | Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin and 38 moreAfghanistan, 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") | Free | |
| DCTS Enhanced | Algeria, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Congo - Brazzaville and 13 moreAlgeria, 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 moreAntigua & 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 moreAnguilla, 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 |
| DCTS Standard | Indonesia | 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 |
UK: imports by month
Main suppliers, last 12 months
| Country | Value | Share | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
 Germany | £7.3m | 22.9% | +2.4% |
 China | £6.2m | 19.2% | +13.5% |
 Austria | £3m | 9.5% | +21% |
 Switzerland | £2.9m | 9.1% | -1.2% |
 India | £1.6m | 4.9% | +5.2% |
 United States | £1.5m | 4.8% | -25% |
 Japan | £1.5m | 4.8% | -10.1% |
 Thailand | £1.2m | 3.7% | +31.2% |
Same subheading in other tariffs
EU
TürkiyeWorld trade in 2024
Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$62kUS$62k+US$3m+US$26m+> US$98m
Exports: 160
- Germany: US$313m
- China: US$240m
- United States: US$134m
- Japan: US$132m
- Switzerland: US$98m
- Italy: US$71m
- Austria: US$64m
- South Korea: US$47m
- Taiwan: US$37m
- Netherlands: US$36m
- India: US$35m
- Vietnam: US$34m
- France: US$33m
- United Kingdom: US$33m
- Sweden: US$30m
- Slovenia: US$26m
- Poland: US$19m
- Czechia: US$17m
- Spain: US$17m
- Thailand: US$14m
- Canada: US$12m
- Türkiye: US$12m
- Belgium: US$12m
- Singapore: US$11m
- Malaysia: US$9m
- Israel: US$8m
- Denmark: US$6m
- Mexico: US$6m
- Serbia: US$5m
- Hungary: US$5m
- Brazil: US$5m
- South Africa: US$5m
- Hong Kong SAR China: US$4m
- Australia: US$4m
- Finland: US$4m
- Slovakia: US$3m
- Croatia: US$3m
- Portugal: US$3m
- Romania: US$3m
- Philippines: US$3m
- Bulgaria: US$2m
- Luxembourg: US$2m
- Indonesia: US$2m
- Kazakhstan: US$1m
- Norway: US$1m
- Russia: US$1m
- Estonia: US$1m
- Ireland: US$1m
- Argentina: US$949k
- Tunisia: US$883k
- New Zealand: US$742k
- Albania: US$694k
- Bosnia & Herzegovina: US$588k
- Colombia: US$584k
- Greece: US$521k
- Armenia: US$504k
- United Arab Emirates: US$483k
- Lithuania: US$339k
- Latvia: US$321k
- Saudi Arabia: US$310k
Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$663kUS$663k+US$6m+US$21m+> US$43m
Imports: 213
- United States: US$207m
- Germany: US$119m
- China: US$89m
- Mexico: US$79m
- Italy: US$53m
- France: US$51m
- Netherlands: US$43m
- Taiwan: US$41m
- United Kingdom: US$39m
- India: US$38m
- Poland: US$37m
- Türkiye: US$36m
- Canada: US$35m
- Spain: US$32m
- Vietnam: US$32m
- Indonesia: US$31m
- Japan: US$27m
- Austria: US$26m
- Russia: US$26m
- South Korea: US$25m
- Thailand: US$24m
- Brazil: US$21m
- Malaysia: US$20m
- Belgium: US$19m
- Philippines: US$17m
- Czechia: US$17m
- Australia: US$17m
- Romania: US$16m
- Switzerland: US$16m
- Hungary: US$14m
- South Africa: US$12m
- Singapore: US$10m
- Sweden: US$10m
- Saudi Arabia: US$10m
- Argentina: US$10m
- Slovakia: US$10m
- Chile: US$10m
- Egypt: US$9m
- United Arab Emirates: US$9m
- Colombia: US$9m
- Ukraine: US$8m
- Slovenia: US$8m
- Denmark: US$8m
- Peru: US$8m
- Hong Kong SAR China: US$8m
- Ireland: US$7m
- Costa Rica: US$7m
- Serbia: US$7m
- Finland: US$7m
- Israel: US$7m
- Portugal: US$6m
- Morocco: US$6m
- Greece: US$6m
- New Zealand: US$6m
- Guatemala: US$5m
- Kazakhstan: US$5m
- Dominican Republic: US$5m
- Bangladesh: US$5m
- Sri Lanka: US$5m
- Norway: US$5m
Top exporters
| Rank | Country | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | US$313m | 19.9% |
| 2 | China | US$240m | 15.2% |
| 3 | United States | US$134m | 8.5% |
| 4 | Japan | US$132m | 8.4% |
| 5 | Switzerland | US$98m | 6.2% |
| 6 |  Italy | US$71m | 4.5% |
| 7 | Austria | US$64m | 4% |
| 8 |  South Korea | US$47m | 3% |
| 9 |  Taiwan | US$37m | 2.3% |
| 10 |  Netherlands | US$36m | 2.3% |
Top importers
| Rank | Country | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | US$207m | 13.1% |
| 2 | Germany | US$119m | 7.6% |
| 3 | China | US$89m | 5.7% |
| 4 |  Mexico | US$79m | 5% |
| 5 | Italy | US$53m | 3.4% |
| 6 |  France | US$51m | 3.2% |
| 7 | Netherlands | US$43m | 2.8% |
| 8 | Taiwan | US$41m | 2.6% |
| 9 | United Kingdom | US$39m | 2.5% |
| 10 | India | US$38m | 2.4% |
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.
- N316847 U.S. CBP
The tariff classification of unfinished slitting knives from Austria
Recent rule changes mentioning this code
Acts whose text cites this code or its heading. Check the act itself: a code can be cited for reasons other than a change of its duty.
- Sanctions · Applies from:
The Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2026
S.I. 2026/543 · Source: legislation.gov.uk
Subheading 8208.90 is a single line in the UK Global Tariff, where the duty is duty-free.
The EU Combined Nomenclature has one tariff line for subheading 8208.90; the duty is 1.7%.
Goods from 174 countries can enter the UK at a preferential rate instead of the standard Free; 174 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 other machine knives and blades worth £32m (up 2% on the year before), at an average of £22.36 per kg; Germany supplied 23%, followed by China.
World trade in other machine knives and blades reached US$2bn in 2024, up 1.1% on 2023.
Germany was the largest exporter with 19.9% of the total, ahead of China.
Questions and answers
What is the HS code for knives and cutting blades, for machines or for mechanical: other?
Knives and cutting blades, for machines or for mechanical: other fall under HS subheading 8208.90, part of heading 8208, in section XV of the Harmonized System.
What is the import duty on knives and cutting blades, for machines or for… in the UK?
Under the UK Global Tariff, imports under 8208.90 from countries without a preferential agreement are free of duty. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
What is the import duty on knives and cutting blades, for machines or for… in the EU?
Under the EU Combined Nomenclature, imports under 8208.90 from countries without a preferential agreement are charged at 1.7%. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
Which country exports the most knives and cutting blades, for machines or for…?
Germany, with US$313m in 2024 (19.9% of world exports).
Which countries can export other machine knives and blades to the UK duty-free?
174 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 Free applies. Pick a country above to see its rate.
Where does the UK import other machine knives and blades from?
In the 12 months to August 2026, the largest suppliers were Germany (23%), China (19%) and Austria (10%), out of total imports of £32m.