How Much Duty Do You Pay on Clothing from Bangladesh? US, UK, EU, Canada and Australia in 2026

In four of its five main markets, yes: the UK, the EU, Canada and Australia charge 0% duty on Bangladesh-made garments, while the United States charges its MFN rate plus a 10% Section 301 duty, about 26.5% on cotton knit tops. The origin tests differ: manufacture from fabric under the UK's Developing Countries Trading Scheme, single transformation under the EU's Everything But Arms, cutting and sewing under Canada's Least Developed Country Tariff since 1 January 2025, and, for Australia's LDC rate of Free, the last process in Bangladesh with at least 50% allowable factory cost. LDC graduation, now scheduled for 24 November 2029, does not end the zero rate at once in the EU or the UK: Regulation (EU) 2026/1395 keeps Everything But Arms three years afterwards, and the UK keeps Bangladesh in its Comprehensive tier as long. Finance Canada says Canada intends the same, at the Governor-in-Council's discretion; for Australia, continued duty-free access is stated policy rather than a tariff rule.

Nothing in the UK, the EU, Canada or Australia, and 26.5% of customs value in the US on cotton knit tops, so US$795 on 500 tees at US$6.00 each. That US figure is 16.5% MFN plus the 10% Section 301 duty, or US$1.59 a shirt. Make the same tees in polyester and the US rate rises to 42%, which is US$1,260 on that US$3,000 order. In the other four markets there is no duty line; the tax at the border is import VAT or GST, and each works it out on a different base. Take, for example, US$500 of freight and insurance: the UK then charges 20% VAT on US$3,500, which is US$700; Germany 19%, US$665; Australia 10% GST, US$350. Canada's 5% GST is worked out on the goods value alone, so US$150. No import tax applies in the US, so its duty is simply part of what each garment costs. The landed-cost calculator runs the same sums for your own quantity and price.

Because the United States has no least-developed-country preference for apparel. Bangladesh-made garments pay the normal MFN rate, 16.5% on cotton knit t-shirts and sweatshirts, and since 24 July 2026 an additional 10% Section 301 duty that USTR applied to all goods of Bangladesh. Before that, the extra layer had two other sources. The IEEPA reciprocal duty charged Bangladesh goods 10% from April 2025 and 20% from 7 August 2025, until the Supreme Court ruled on 20 February 2026 that IEEPA does not authorise tariffs; a cut to 19% announced that month never took effect, and CBP is refunding what importers paid. A temporary 10% Section 122 surcharge then ran from 24 February to 24 July. A tariff-rate quota for garments made with US cotton has been promised and would remove the 10% but not the MFN duty; it was not in the tariff schedule when we checked on 2 October 2026.

Yes: 42% of customs value against 26.5%, for knitted tees from Bangladesh entered today. The MFN rate for a man-made-fibre t-shirt, HTS 6109.90.10, is 32%, while a cotton one under 6109.10.00 pays 16.5%, and the 10% Section 301 duty is added to both. Hoodies and sweatshirts split the same way, 6110.30.30 against 6110.20.20. For blends, the Section XI notes of the tariff classify the garment by the fibre that predominates by weight, with polyester and elastane counted together as man-made fibre. A 60/40 cotton-polyester tee is therefore a cotton tee at 26.5%, and cotton jersey with 5% elastane stays cotton. An exact 50/50 blend is treated as man-made fibre, because that heading comes last in numerical order. The composition you declare has to match the fabric, so we state it from the fabric we actually cut. Checked against HTS Revision 19 on 23 September 2026.

Yes in the UK, the EU, Canada and Australia, and no in the United States. The rates on Bangladesh-made clothing are 20% import VAT in the UK, the member state's own rate in the EU (19% in Germany), 5% GST in Canada and 10% GST in Australia. The base is not the same everywhere. In the UK and the EU the customs value already includes transport and insurance to the border, and VAT is charged on that plus any duty. Australia adds international transport and insurance to the value as well, while Canada charges GST on a value for duty that leaves international freight out. The tax is normally recoverable for a VAT- or GST-registered business and a true cost for one that is not. Imports into the US carry no VAT or GST. On a DDP shipment, ask whose name goes on the entry, because only that business can reclaim the tax.

For the UK, the EU and Canada, no; for Australia, it can. The UK, EU and Canadian schemes all treat cutting and sewing the garment in Bangladesh as conferring origin regardless of where the yarn or fabric came from. Jersey knitted in another country and then cut and sewn in Narayanganj still meets all three rules. The rule that once tripped up buyers, double transformation, was removed from the UK's Enhanced tier on 1 January 2026 and from Canada's apparel rules on 1 January 2025, so if Bangladesh moves into the UK's Enhanced tier after graduation, the rule does not come back. Australia works differently: the last process of manufacture must happen in Bangladesh and allowable factory cost must reach at least 50%, so ask your broker to confirm the cost split for your garment before relying on the Free rate. We cut and sew on our own floor, so the origin-conferring step is the one we control.

With proof of origin, in the form each market asks for: an origin declaration on the invoice for the UK, a statement on origin for the EU, a certificate of origin plus direct shipment for Canada, and origin documentation showing the last process and factory-cost split for Australia. In the EU, above EUR 6,000 of originating goods in one consignment, the statement on origin must be made out by an exporter registered in the REX system. Without valid proof the full rate is charged, although UK importers who miss the preference at entry have two years to claim the duty back from HMRC. Ship DDP and the exporter's forwarder files the paperwork; ship FOB and your broker will ask you for it. Either way the documents come from the factory, which is one reason to contract the factory rather than an agent who cannot say where the goods were made.

They can, and 2026 has shown how fast. The US rate changed three times: the IEEPA duty ended on 20 February, a 10% Section 122 surcharge ran from 24 February to 24 July, and a 10% Section 301 duty on Bangladesh goods replaced it. What counts is the rate in force on entry; for knitted garments the only July relief covered shipments in transit before 24 July and entered before 28 July. LDC graduation has moved to 24 November 2029 after a UN decision on 29 October 2026; when it comes, it leaves the US rate alone and starts a three-year transition, rather than an immediate change, in the UK and the EU. That is why every rate here carries its verification date and source, why our quotes are DDP so the entry-day rate is in the price, and why a licensed broker should confirm the live rate for your commodity code before you price a range.

The first six digits are the same in every market, because the World Customs Organization's Harmonized System is used by more than 200 countries and economies. A cotton knit T-shirt is 6109.10 and a polyester one 6109.90. A cotton hoodie or sweatshirt is 6110.20 and a man-made-fibre one 6110.30. Knitted joggers and shorts sit in 6103 for men and 6104 for women, most knitted polos in 6105 or 6106. Each market then adds its own digits: the US tariff runs to ten, so the cotton tee is 6109.10.00 plus a statistical suffix, and other markets extend it in their own way. The importer answers for the code declared, not the factory, so give your broker the fibre composition by weight and whether each style is cut for men or women. In the UK, the EU, Canada and Australia all these headings are 0% for Bangladesh-made knitwear when the origin rules are met; in the US the code sets the rate.

Several, and they fall into two groups that behave differently when Bangladesh graduates. The first group gives a preference because Bangladesh is a least developed country. Japan's tariff shows Free in its LDC column for cotton knit tees, sweatshirts and trousers, and Norway's customs service states that goods from least developed countries enter free of duty, where most clothing otherwise pays 10.7%. Those zero rates depend on LDC status, so their transition terms matter after 24 November 2029. The second group charges no duty on clothing from anywhere. Switzerland abolished its industrial tariffs, clothing included, on 1 January 2024, and Singapore and Hong Kong levy customs duty only on a short list of goods such as liquor and tobacco. Graduation leaves those three untouched. Not every market is zero: Saudi Arabia's tariff showed 5% on the cotton knit lines we make. Import VAT or GST still applies in most of these countries, and our market pages work through each one.