Importing Textiles from China in 2027: The New EU Rules

For apparel from China, 2027 changes less about duties than about what importers need to know and prove about their goods. Here are the dates that matter for brands, textile decorators and traders, as of 27 October 2026. This overview is not legal advice.

14 December 2027: ban on products made with forced labour

Regulation (EU) 2024/3015 applies from 14 December 2027. From then on, products made wholly or partly with forced labour may not be placed on the EU market or exported. If an authority finds a breach after an investigation, the goods must be withdrawn from the market and disposed of. The ban covers everything made available from that day on, including goods imported earlier and still in a warehouse. The Commission published guidelines on 26 June 2026.

For apparel this means knowing the sewing factory is not enough. The whole chain down to fabric and yarn counts, and for cotton the origin of the fibre too. If you agree origin records for fabrics with suppliers now, you will have no gap in December 2027.

17 June 2027: producer responsibility for textiles

Directive (EU) 2025/1892 introduces extended producer responsibility (EPR) for clothing, accessories, footwear and home textiles, similar to packaging. Member states must transpose it by 17 June 2027. Collection schemes must be in place 30 months after entry into force, so by 17 April 2028. Whoever first makes textiles available in a country will then have to register and pay fees. How this will look in Germany and the other countries is still open.

End of 2027: ecodesign rules and the digital product passport

The Commission plans the ecodesign act for textiles for Q4 2027. It is to set requirements such as durability and recyclability and introduce the digital product passport for apparel. It will apply 18 months after entry into force at the earliest. So 2027 is the year the rules are fixed, not the year they bite. Since July 2026, large companies may no longer destroy unsold apparel.

Duty on low-value parcels: hardly relevant for B2B

Since 1 July 2026 the EU charges €3 duty per item category on consignments up to €150, initially until July 2028. This mainly hits online platforms shipping single parcels to consumers. Nothing changes for bulk imports in cartons or containers, which were always dutiable. For brands competing with low-cost platforms, the price gap shifts slightly.

Checklist for 2027

• Ask suppliers for the origin of fabric and yarn for every item and keep the records
• Clarify who counts as the first distributor in which country, which matters for textile EPR
• Document materials, fibre composition and care instructions properly, which helps with the product passport later
• Plan repeat orders early around Chinese New Year on 6 February 2027

At DS Trading our team in China knows the producers personally and can check fabric origin and production on site. One European contact goes through which records your item needs. Delivery DDP, invoice from Germany. For timing around the Spring Festival see Chinese New Year 2027. For labelling see textile labelling on import.