Worldwide Customs & Regulatory Updates


August 7, 2006

U.S. Customs Regulations on Textile Imports


We would like to remind you of the enforcement measures taken by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on all textiles and wearing apparel imports. They are as follows:

  1. All samples must be mutilated or declared as not for resale on the Commercial Invoice before arrival into the U.S. Samples without such description on the Commercial Invoice may be subject to duty and tax.

    An example of the sample's description: 'Mutilated sample not for resale - men's 100% cotton woven shirt'

  2. Shippers must also provide a proper description of the merchandise being shipped. The proper description of the textile article should include the fiber contents, if it is knitted or woven, men's or women's wear.

    An example of proper description: 'women's 80% cotton 20% silk knit blouse'


All samples must adhere to the marking or mutilated guidelines in order to qualify for Duty/Quota free entry into the U.S. Do note however, that China and Vietnam's marked or mutilated samples will be subject to duty but exempted from quota/visa requirement.


More details about the Marking or Mutilated guidelines can be found at:-

  • Shippers of textile imports to the U.S. are advised to ensure that the full name and address of the manufacturer for each textile item is included in their shipping documentation.

  • Shippers may continue to submit this with the TEXCO as it is still acceptable to US Customs. However, the entity named on the TEXCO must be specifically that of the manufacturer.

  • Shippers who are not submitting any TEXCO must indicate the manufacturer's full name and address along with a full detailed description of textile article on the Commercial Invoice under the 'Full Description of Goods' section. In addition, the shipper should ensure that all required information for these commodities, as specified in the U.S. Customs regulations, including additional information to determine the proper tariff classification, be indicated in this same section of the Commercial Invoice. General invoice requirements and specific information for certain commodities can be found in the U.S. Customs regulations at 19 CFR 141.86 and 141.89.