China
UK trade laneBritish contractors, plant-hire companies and dealers buy Chinese excavators, loaders and access equipment for capable machines at a lower capital cost, and the UK has responded. Since May 2025, tracked excavators from China of 11 tonnes up to 80 tonnes have carried anti-dumping and countervailing duty, and an absorption review opened in March 2026 could raise it. Boom lifts have been under provisional anti-dumping duty since August 2026. Neither measure is a ban, and mini excavators under 11 tonnes, wheeled machines and scissor lifts are outside them — but the duty can decide the deal.
Compliance is the other half. A machine placed on the GB market needs CE or UKCA conformity backed by a technical file and English instructions, an engine type-approved to Stage V, and a guaranteed sound power level marked under the outdoor noise rules. AGF's own office in Foshan runs the China end: for South China suppliers our team visits the factory, and for builders further north we book from Shanghai, Ningbo or Qingdao and coordinate loading with the factory. In the UK we work through a WCA partner agent — AGF has no office in Britain — whose customs agent clears the machines under your EORI number, and AGF's Europe Representative also covers the UK.
Last reviewed:
Shipping Excavators & Construction Machinery from China to UK
The machine's transport dimensions decide the method. Mini excavators fit inside 20ft or 40ft containers, often more than one to a box, with the boom folded, tracks chocked and attachments strapped alongside. Machines in the 20-tonne class and larger usually go on 40ft flat racks — often over-width — and the largest ship as ro-ro or breakbulk, sometimes with the boom, arm or counterweight removed. Out-of-gauge bookings need carrier approval with exact dimensions, weight, centre of gravity and lifting points; we arrange lashing surveys where the carrier or insurer requires them.
Via the Suez Canal, South China to Felixstowe, Southampton or London Gateway typically takes about four to five weeks port to port; on a service that still sails around the Cape, allow roughly five to six weeks. Ro-ro and breakbulk sailings are quoted per sailing. In Britain, wide loads are notified in advance to the police and road authorities through the ESDAL system, with longer notice and special authorisation for the widest, so we plan the low-loader delivery before the machine sails. Urgent spare parts fly.
- 20ft or 40ft containers for mini excavators and attachments; 40ft flat racks for larger machines
- Ro-ro or breakbulk for the heaviest and widest units, quoted per sailing
- Dimensions, weights and lifting points confirmed with the factory before booking
- Chain lashing and blocking checked; lashing surveys where the carrier or insurer requires them
- Battery-electric machines booked as dangerous goods with carriers that accept them
- Air freight for urgent spare parts
What Drives the Cost
- Anti-dumping and countervailing duty on tracked excavators of 11 to under 80 tonnes, set per exporter; provisional duty on boom lifts
- Container, flat rack, ro-ro or breakbulk — set by the transport dimensions and weight
- Routing via Suez or the Cape
- Conformity work: technical file, engine type-approval evidence, noise assessment by an approved body
- Import VAT at 20%, which a VAT-registered importer can account for through postponed VAT accounting
- Low-loader delivery, abnormal-load notifications and offloading at the site
HS Codes and Duty Notes
Classification guidance only — duty rates change and depend on your exact product. Codes are confirmed with the licensed customs representative at destination before you ship.
| HS Code | Products | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 8429.52.10 | Track-laying excavators with a 360° revolving superstructure | Duty-free under the UK Global Tariff, but machines of 11 tonnes to under 80 tonnes from China carry anti-dumping and countervailing duty until 14 May 2030, at rates set per exporter. Imports have been registered since July 2026 under an absorption review. |
| 8429.51 / 8429.52 / 8429.59 | Wheeled excavators, wheel loaders, skid steers and backhoe loaders | Outside the excavator measures, which cover tracked machines only. Duty follows the commodity code, confirmed at quoting. |
| 8427 / 8428 | Mobile elevating work platforms — boom lifts and scissor lifts | Boom lifts with a working height of 6 metres or more from China have been under provisional anti-dumping duty since 20 August 2026, with a final decision pending. Scissor lifts, vertical mast lifts and forklifts are excluded. |
| 8431.41 / 8431.49 | Buckets, grabs, quick couplers and other excavator parts and attachments | Classified separately from the complete machine; we confirm with the partner's customs agent how attachments shipped with a measured excavator are declared. |
| 7308 / 7326 | Steel structures and other steel articles shipped loose | Iron and steel goods may fall under the UK carbon border adjustment mechanism from 1 January 2027 and under the UK's steel quota measure; complete machines are outside both. |
Regulations and Compliance
UK anti-dumping and countervailing duty on excavators
Self-propelled tracked excavators with a 360° revolving superstructure and an operating weight of 11 tonnes or more but under 80 tonnes, from China, have carried definitive anti-dumping and countervailing duty since 14 May 2025; the measures run until 14 May 2030, and rates are set per exporter. In March 2026 the Trade Remedies Authority opened an absorption review to test whether exporters are absorbing the duty rather than raising prices, and since July 2026 imports have been registered so that any increase can apply from that date. These machines are heavily tariffed, not banned. We check the operating weight, the exporter and its duty status before you order.
Boom lifts: provisional anti-dumping duty
Boom lifts with a maximum working height of 6 metres or more from China have been under provisional anti-dumping duty since 20 August 2026, secured by a deposit or guarantee for up to six months or until a definitive measure replaces it. The Trade Remedies Authority planned its final determination for October 2026 and a parallel subsidy investigation is still open, so we check the current status at quoting. Scissor lifts, vertical mast lifts, forklifts and mobile cranes are excluded, as are separate components.
Machinery safety: CE or UKCA
Machinery placed on the GB market must meet the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008, with a technical file, a declaration of conformity, instructions in English and CE or UKCA marking; Great Britain recognises the CE marking indefinitely. From 20 January 2027, when the EU Machinery Regulation applies, Great Britain will also accept machinery CE-marked under it. A Chinese builder may appoint a UK-based authorised representative; if it does not, the business that places the machine on the GB market — usually the importer — answers for its conformity. A "CE certificate" from a test lab is not the same as the manufacturer's declaration, and a used machine imported from outside the UK is treated as new.
Engine emissions: Stage V and GB type approval
Engines in non-road mobile machinery sold in Great Britain must be type-approved to Stage V, apart from transition engines, and since 1 January 2023 they have needed a provisional GB type approval based on a valid EU or UNECE approval. The engine must carry durable markings with the maker, engine type and approval number. An engine approved only to China's own non-road standard does not qualify, so order the Stage V export version and check the engine marking before shipment. Requirements for full GB type approval of these engines have not yet been set, so we check the approval route when you order.
Outdoor noise
Hydraulic excavators below 500 kW are subject to noise limits under the Noise Emission in the Environment by Equipment for use Outdoors Regulations 2001. The guaranteed sound power level must be marked on the machine, a declaration of conformity must accompany it, and the conformity assessment involves an approved or notified body. Where the manufacturer is not established in the UK, these duties fall on whoever places the machine on the GB market.
Customs, VAT and site delivery
Your business needs a GB EORI number, and a business without a UK establishment needs a customs representative. Tracked excavators are duty-free under the UK Global Tariff before any trade-remedy duty. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value, which includes freight and insurance to the UK border, plus duty; a VAT-registered importer can use postponed VAT accounting. Wide loads need abnormal-load notifications before they move on British roads, and the partner arranges low-loader delivery to your site.
Door-to-Door Shipping Service
Send us the model, transport drawing, weights, engine type-approval details and conformity documents. With the partner's UK customs agent we check whether the machine falls under the excavator or boom-lift measures and what your exporter's duty status is, before you pay the balance.
Our Foshan team — or the factory, for builders further north — confirms dimensions and lifting points, checks the nameplate, CE or UKCA marking, engine approval marking and noise label, and photographs serial numbers.
Machines are loaded into containers or chained to flat racks under supervision, with photographs; ro-ro or breakbulk is booked for the largest units, and lashing surveys are arranged where the carrier or insurer requires them.
The cargo sails to Felixstowe, Southampton or London Gateway, via Suez or the Cape, confirmed per sailing.
Our WCA partner agent's customs agent clears the machines as your representative under your EORI number, with any anti-dumping duty assessed in your name and VAT through postponed accounting if you are VAT-registered; AGF's Europe Representative, who also covers the UK, coordinates with the partner.
The partner delivers by low-loader, with abnormal-load notifications where the width requires them, to your yard or site, where a crane or ramp is arranged for the offload.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there anti-dumping duty on Chinese excavators in the UK?
Can I import a mini excavator from China to the UK?
Is CE marking accepted on machinery in the UK?
Do I need a UK representative to import machinery from a Chinese manufacturer?
How do you ship an excavator from China to the UK?
How long does shipping machinery from China to the UK take?
Excavators & Construction Machinery is just one example. AGF ships whatever your business moves — on this lane and beyond. If your commodity isn't covered by one of our guides, tell us what you ship and we'll build the logistics around it.
USA Office
DDC — Authorized Representative in Kazakhstan
Europe — Achot Baghdasarian