Shipping & duty
What duty actually costs on apparel into the US, UK and EU
The most expensive surprise in first-time importing is the bill that arrives after the goods do. Duty, VAT and carrier fees are not optional extras — they are part of your unit cost, and they differ enormously by destination. Here is the honest picture for Pakistani-made apparel as it stands, and how to make sure your quote already contains it.
Why the same garment costs different amounts to land
Duty is set by the destination country, the product category and the country of origin — not by your supplier. Two brands ordering identical hoodies from the same floor, one in Manchester and one in Denver, face materially different landed costs, and neither has any say in it.
That is why a quote that stops at the factory gate is not a quote you can plan a margin on.
The United States
Cotton knitwear from Pakistan currently runs at roughly 26.5%. That is the normal duty of about 16.5% plus the 10% Section 301 tariff applied to Pakistani goods since July 2026.
There is no small-parcel exemption to plan around. A 30-piece order is dutiable on the same basis as a 3,000-piece one.
Because this figure is the product of a trade measure rather than a stable tariff schedule, it is the one most likely to move. We re-check the rate before every quote, and if destination duty law changes between the quote and dispatch, we re-quote before shipping rather than passing you a surprise.
The United Kingdom and the EU
Both are considerably simpler. Pakistani knitwear enters the UK duty-free under the Developing Countries Trading Scheme, and the EU duty-free under GSP+.
What remains is import VAT. That is a real cash-flow item at the border, but for a VAT-registered business it is reclaimable rather than a permanent cost — which is a fundamentally different thing from US duty, and worth modelling separately.
What DDP means, and why it is the only quote worth comparing
DDP — Delivered Duty Paid — means freight, duty, VAT and carrier fees are paid before the parcel lands, and each appears as a separate line on your quote. The number you approve is the number at your door.
The alternative is a factory-gate price that looks lower and is not. The difference shows up as a courier invoice weeks later, usually with a handling fee attached, and usually to a founder who has already priced their product at retail.
When you compare suppliers, make sure you are comparing the same thing. Ask every quote to itemise freight, duty and VAT separately. If one supplier will not, that is your answer about which number is real.
One thing to check with your own forwarder
Trade measures stack in ways that are not always obvious from published schedules. If you are importing into the US at volume, it is worth confirming with your freight forwarder that nothing further applies on top of the figures above for your specific product code.
We would rather you ran that check than took our number as final — which is the same reason we re-check it ourselves before every quote.
Questions this raises
How much is import duty on clothing from Pakistan to the USA?
Cotton knitwear currently runs at about 26.5% — roughly 16.5% normal duty plus the 10% Section 301 tariff on Pakistani goods in effect since July 2026 — with no small-parcel exemption. Rates change, so we re-check before every quote.
Is there duty on Pakistani clothing into the UK or EU?
No. Pakistani knitwear enters the UK duty-free under the DCTS and the EU duty-free under GSP+. The destination cost is import VAT, which VAT-registered businesses reclaim.
Will customs add a bill after my order ships?
Not on a DDP quote. Freight, duty, VAT and carrier fees are paid before the parcel lands and each is a separate line on your quote. If destination duty law changes between quote and dispatch, we re-quote before shipping.