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Customs & Duties

Turkey is one of the UK's most significant non-EU trading partners, with particular strength in textiles, clothing, automotive parts, machinery, and agricultural products. The UK and Turkey have a bilateral trade agreement — the UK-Turkey Trade Agreement — which came into force in March 2021 as a continuity arrangement rolling over the terms of the former EU-Turkey Customs Union. Understanding what this agreement actually covers, and where it doesn't help, is essential before placing an order.

What the UK-Turkey Trade Agreement Covers

The UK-Turkey Trade Agreement provides preferential duty rates primarily on industrial goods. For most manufactured products — machinery, automotive components, steel products, chemicals, and processed goods — the agreement delivers 0% duty rates. This covers a large proportion of Turkey's industrial export base.

However, the agreement has notable gaps:

• Agricultural goods: limited preferences apply. Many food and agricultural products from Turkey face standard UKGT rates rather than preferential rates.
• Textiles and clothing: Turkey is not included in the UK's Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) — unlike India or Bangladesh, which benefit from reduced textile duty rates. Turkish clothing and textiles are subject to the standard UKGT rate of 12% on most garments, not a preferential FTA rate. This is a significant point for UK fashion importers who may assume Turkey benefits from the same preferences as other major textile suppliers.

Rules of Origin Under the UK-Turkey Agreement

To claim preferential duty rates under the UK-Turkey agreement, goods must originate in Turkey according to the agreement's rules of origin. Turkey's position as a major textile manufacturer means that some goods sold as "made in Turkey" involve significant quantities of fabric or raw materials sourced from third countries — and whether those goods genuinely qualify as Turkish-originating under the specific rules of origin depends on how much processing occurred in Turkey.

For industrial goods, the rules of origin typically require that the goods undergo sufficient processing in Turkey to change their tariff heading. For textiles, the standard rule requires fabric to be woven and the garment to be cut and sewn in Turkey — meaning clothing assembled from Chinese fabric may not qualify. Ask your Turkish supplier to confirm the origin status and to provide a statement on origin if you intend to claim preference.

Duty Rates in Practice

Automotive parts and industrial components: typically 0–4% under the UK-Turkey agreement, often 0% for most classifications.

Machinery and equipment: generally 0% under the agreement for most categories.

Clothing and garments: 12% UKGT rate applies. The agreement does not provide preferential rates for textiles in the way the EU-Turkey Customs Union did for intra-EU trade.

Leather goods: 3.7% standard rate; check whether preferential rate applies to your specific commodity code.

Ceramics and homeware: 0–6% depending on specific product and classification.

A Worked Example

A UK fashion retailer imports £800 of woven cotton shirts from a manufacturer in Istanbul.

The landed cost for Turkish clothing sits broadly in line with Chinese-sourced equivalents — both face the 12% standard UKGT rate, unlike Bangladesh (0% DCTS) or India (approximately 9.6% DCTS). See the full guide to importing clothing into the UK for a comparison of origin-based rates across major textile supplying countries.

Getting Commodity Codes Right for Turkish Imports

Turkey exports a genuinely diverse range of goods — from refined petroleum products to hazelnuts to automotive wiring harnesses. The commodity code matters more for Turkish imports than for many other origins precisely because the trade agreement applies different preferences to different product categories, and the UKGT rate varies significantly within broad categories. A textile input (fabric, yarn) may face a different rate from a finished garment, and an industrial component may attract 0% when a consumer product in the same chapter attracts 4%.

Use the full duty calculation process — confirm the 10-digit commodity code for your specific product, check the applicable rate for Turkish origin, and verify whether the UK-Turkey agreement preference applies before you order. ClearDuty returns the correct duty rate and full landed cost breakdown once you enter the commodity code and origin country.