2026 China Knitwear Tariffs & Landed Cost: What US & EU Brands Really Pay (FOB to DDP, Worked Example)

TL;DR — For knitwear (HS Chapter 61) imported from China in 2026, the FOB price is only part of what you pay. Reported *effective* import duty for apparel now commonly lands in the 20–45% total range depending on the exact HTS code and fibre, on top of freight and clearance fees. Model your landed cost before you commit — and always confirm your exact HTS code and rate with a licensed customs broker. This guide gives the formula, a worked FOB→DDP example, and the levers that actually lower your landed cost.

Rates and rules change and are HTS- and country-specific. Treat every number here as a planning range, not a quote or legal/customs advice — verify with a licensed customs broker for your product and destination.

FOB (Free On Board) is the price to get goods to the loading port in China. Your real per-unit cost — the number your margin depends on — is the landed cost: FOB plus international freight, import duty/tariffs, customs clearance and any brokerage, and inland delivery. In 2026, with apparel tariffs elevated, the gap between FOB and landed cost is bigger than many first-time buyers expect.

Landed unit cost = FOB price + freight per unit + duty (duty% × customs value) + clearance/brokerage per unit + inland/last-mile per unit

• Customs value is usually your FOB (or CIF, depending on the country's basis).
• Duty% depends on the HTS code (driven by garment type + fibre) and any additional country-specific tariffs.
• Freight per unit falls sharply with volume (FCL vs LCL).

Assumptions: a knit sweater, FOB USD 18, sea freight, moderate order. Duty% here is an ILLUSTRATIVE placeholder — substitute your broker-confirmed rate.

The takeaway: at an illustrative 30% duty, a USD 18 FOB sweater lands near USD 25 — so budget on landed cost, never FOB, and get the duty rate confirmed early.

• Knitwear is classified under HS Chapter 61 (knitted or crocheted apparel); woven garments fall under Chapter 62. The exact HTS line — and its duty rate — depends on garment type and fibre (wool, cotton, man-made, blends), so two similar sweaters can carry different rates.
• Reported effective apparel duty from China in 2026 commonly falls in a ~20–45% total band once base duty and any additional country-specific tariffs are combined. Man-made-fibre garments often sit at the higher end.
• This is why fibre choice and correct HTS classification are commercial decisions, not just technical ones.

The US baseline changed mid-year. A landed-cost model built before August 2026 is working from a number that no longer exists.

• 23 July 2026 — the global 10% tariff imposed under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 expired at midnight. Section 122 caps at 15% and runs for a maximum of 150 days, so the expiry was scheduled rather than a surprise.
• 24 July 2026, 00:01 ET — Section 301 "forced-labour" tariffs took effect at the same moment, covering more than 60 economies and, between them, over 99% of US imports.
• The rate is two-tier: 10% for economies the USTR has determined prohibit imports made with forced labour, 12.5% for those that have no such prohibition.
• From no earlier than 1 September 2026, a volume of apparel and textile imports is to enter at a reduced rate tied to each economy's purchases of US cotton and textile inputs. The mechanism is to be established by USTR and is not in force at the time of writing.

Which tier applies to a given country is a USTR determination — not something a factory can tell you, and not something to infer from a supplier's confidence. Ask your customs broker to confirm both the tier and the HTS line you will actually be entered under before you commit a season's costing. On a full container the gap between 10% and 12.5% is not a rounding error.

The guide keeps saying "it depends on the HTS code and fibre" — so here are the actual sub-headings to look yours up against. Sweaters, pullovers and cardigans sit under heading 6110, split by fibre:

The full 8–10 digit statistical line and its exact duty rate come from your destination's schedule — the US HTSUS, the EU TARIC, or the UK Global Tariff. Because the fibre picks the subheading, a wool sweater (6110.11) and the same style in acrylic (6110.30) can carry different duty rates — which is why fibre is a commercial decision, not only a hand-feel one. Confirm the exact statistical suffix and rate with a licensed customs broker before you cost the program.

📌 Plan on landed, not FOB: at an illustrative 30% duty, a USD 18 FOB sweater lands near USD 25 — a +39% gap once freight, duty and clearance are in. Model every style at landed cost before bulk.

For EU importers, model import duty + import VAT (VAT is recoverable for VAT-registered businesses but still affects cash flow), plus clearance. EU duty rates for knitwear also vary by HTS/fibre; confirm with your broker and check any preferential/□trade-measure changes for the year.

• Fibre / HTS choice: the same style in a different qualifying fibre can change the duty line — discuss options with your factory and broker early.
• Incoterms: compare FOB vs DDP (delivered duty paid). DDP shifts freight/duty handling to the supplier side and can simplify budgeting; get it quoted both ways.
• Consolidate: FCL over LCL, and fewer styles in larger runs, cut freight-per-unit and clearance overhead.
• Order size: larger runs amortise sampling, freight and clearance across more units.
• Get the rate early: confirm HTS + duty before sampling so the program pencils out at target margin.

Many brands are diversifying sourcing in 2026. That is a real trend — but the honest comparison is total landed cost + risk + capability, not FOB alone. For technical knitwear (fine gauges, jacquard, structured constructions), China's machinery and know-how often still deliver a competitive *landed* cost and quality even after tariffs, while some lower-FOB origins carry higher defect, lead-time or capability risk. Model the full number for each option before deciding.

Build your landed-cost model per style before you place bulk. Start from our real FOB ranges by product type in the 2026 Custom Knitwear Manufacturing Benchmarks, decode quote line items with how to read a knitwear quotation, and compare shipping terms with the Incoterms decoder. For the mechanics of duty and freight, see knitwear landed cost, import duty & freight.

Figures are 2026 planning ranges compiled from public trade/tariff reporting and our own FOB data, not a quote or customs/legal advice. Duty rates are HTS- and destination-specific and change over time — confirm your exact classification and rate with a licensed customs broker before committing.

Why is the FOB price not what a sweater actually costs you? Because FOB ends at the port of origin. Freight, insurance, duty, customs clearance, port handling, inland delivery and any brokerage all sit on top. Brands that plan a margin from the FOB number are planning from roughly the wrong figure.

What goes into a landed cost calculation? The unit price, the freight and insurance allocated per unit, the duty computed on the declared value, and the clearance and handling charges. The article sets it out as a formula so you can run your own numbers rather than rely on an example.

Why does the tariff classification matter so much? Because duty is calculated from it, and knitwear can fall under different lines depending on fibre content and construction. A garment classified one way and another way can carry materially different duty. Get the classification from your broker before the PO, not at clearance.

Do EU and US buyers face the same picture? No, and the article treats them separately. Rates, thresholds and the paperwork differ, so a landed cost model built for one market should not be reused for the other without checking.

How should a buyer use the worked example? As a template to replace with your own figures. The structure of the calculation is the durable part; the specific rates are the part you must confirm against current tariff schedules for your classification and market.

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