What duty and tariff issues apply to custom apparel and cut-and-sew?
Confidence 4/5 Established practice
Duty considerations for custom apparel and cut-and-sew:
Apparel tariffs are high and fibre-specific, commonly in the 12% US range for cotton knits and higher for some synthetics. This is the category where the HS subheading most changes the landed cost, and it needs to be verified rather than estimated.
Sources
- Cut-and-sew MOQ and sampling practice — Industry practice; consistent with supplier-quoted minimums
- Apparel classification by fibre and construction — World Customs Organization HS nomenclature
- Textile labelling requirements — US Federal Trade Commission
What goes wrong with custom apparel and cut-and-sew
- Quoting before the fabric is chosen. Fabric is typically the majority of the cost.
- Skipping a fit sample and going straight to production.
- Not specifying shrinkage or colourfastness standards, then discovering both after the first wash.
- Assuming the fabric weight matches the sample; GSM varies between mills at the same nominal weight.
- Ignoring the destination labelling rules until after the goods are printed.
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