China
Europe trade laneEuropean workshops and manufacturers buy Chinese machinery for the same reason American ones do: capable equipment at a lower capital cost. Foshan itself is a machinery centre — Shunde's Lunjiao area is known for woodworking machinery — and the Pearl River Delta builds packaging and processing machines, motors, pumps, switchgear, lighting and other electrical equipment. The freight is routine. The risk is in the conformity paperwork: a CE mark is the manufacturer's declaration, and in Europe the importer carries responsibility if it turns out to be wrong.
Our Foshan office works at the factory end: confirming dimensions and weights, planning crating or out-of-gauge loading, checking that the conformity documents exist before the goods leave, and supervising loading with photographs. In Europe we work through WCA partner agents in the country of delivery — AGF has no office in Europe — who clear the goods and deliver to site.
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Shipping Machinery & Electrical Equipment from China to Europe
Machines that fit ship crated in 40ft High Cube or 20ft containers, braced and preserved against corrosion for a sea passage. Machines that do not go on flat rack or open top, or as breakbulk, and that decision — made from the crated dimensions — drives routing, cost and schedule. Equipment with lithium batteries or residual fluids is declared as dangerous goods where the rules require it.
Ocean is the normal mode for machinery, via Suez or around the Cape, confirmed per sailing. Middle Corridor rail through Kazakhstan, never across Russia or Belarus, suits urgent in-gauge equipment, but it involves two breaks of rail gauge, a Caspian ferry and several handoffs, so heavy or out-of-gauge units generally stay on the ocean. Urgent spare parts fly.
- Crated 20ft or 40ft High Cube for in-gauge machines; flat rack, open top or breakbulk for the rest
- Dimensions and weights confirmed at the factory before booking
- Corrosion protection and bracing for the sea passage
- Middle Corridor rail for urgent in-gauge cargo; air for spare parts
What Drives the Cost
- Whether the machine containerises or needs flat rack, open top or breakbulk
- Routing — Suez or the Cape — and, for urgent cargo, rail or air
- Conformity work: CE technical file, notified-body involvement where required, documentation in the destination language
- CBAM on steel or aluminium articles shipped with the machine, and any EU anti-dumping duty
- Import VAT at the destination country's rate, and the EU customs duty on the CN code
- Delivery, unloading and rigging at the European 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 8465 | Woodworking machinery — panel saws, edge banders, CNC routers | Foshan's Lunjiao area is a major source. Machinery Directive now, Machinery Regulation from 20 January 2027. |
| 8422 / 8477 | Packing and filling machinery; plastics and rubber machinery | A production line is often invoiced as one item and shipped as many crates; the declaration should describe the line coherently. |
| 8501 / 8537 / 8544 | Electric motors; switchgear and control panels; cables | Low-voltage, EMC and RoHS rules apply, and motors must meet EU ecodesign efficiency requirements, including many motors built into machines. |
| 8427 / 8428 | Lifting and handling equipment, including mobile elevating work platforms | Mobile access equipment from China carries EU anti-dumping and countervailing duties — check TARIC before ordering. |
| 7308 / 7326 / 7610 | Steel and aluminium structures and articles — frames, platforms, racks | CBAM goods. Shipped separately from the machine or invoiced as their own lines, they need CBAM reporting and, above the threshold, certificates. |
Regulations and Compliance
CE marking and the EU Machinery Regulation
Machinery placed on the EU market needs a technical file, an EU declaration of conformity and the CE mark, and the EU importer's name and address must appear on the machine or its documentation. The Machinery Directive is replaced by the Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 from 20 January 2027, with new requirements on safety-related software, cybersecurity and digital instructions, and third-party assessment for some high-risk categories. A "CE certificate" from a Chinese test house is often a voluntary report, not a notified-body certificate, so check what the supplier is actually providing. Partly completed machinery needs a declaration of incorporation instead.
Electrical rules: LVD, EMC, RoHS, ecodesign and WEEE
Electrical equipment must meet the Low Voltage, EMC and RoHS directives; electric motors, including many built into machines, must meet the EU ecodesign efficiency rules; and products in scope of the WEEE rules need producer registration in each country where they are sold. Batteries inside equipment fall under the EU Battery Regulation's labelling and producer-responsibility duties.
CBAM — the carbon border mechanism
CBAM's definitive period began on 1 January 2026. Machinery itself is not a CBAM good, but iron, steel and aluminium goods are — structures, frames, racks, tanks, fasteners — including when they are shipped alongside a machine or invoiced as separate lines. Importers above the 50-tonne annual threshold need authorised CBAM declarant status, and certificates for 2026 imports are bought from 1 February 2027. The EU has proposed extending CBAM to more downstream steel and aluminium products from 2028, so check each CN code at quoting.
EU anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties
The EU applies anti-dumping and countervailing duties to a growing list of Chinese goods, including mobile access equipment, aluminium extrusions, e-bikes and many steel products, and steel products also face EU quota measures. Rates are set per exporter. Check the TARIC code, and whether your supplier has an individual rate, before you order.
EU Forced Labour Regulation
From 14 December 2027, EU authorities can ban products made with forced labour from the EU market and order their withdrawal. It covers every product and origin, so supply-chain documentation for components matters for equipment ordered now for delivery after that date.
Door-to-Door Shipping Service
We start with drawings, weights and the conformity documents. Our Foshan team confirms dimensions at the factory, plans crating or out-of-gauge loading, checks that the declaration of conformity and technical documentation exist, and supervises loading with photographs. Export documents and ICS2 data, with proper descriptions and HS codes, are prepared before the cargo sails.
The cargo sails via Suez or the Cape, or moves on the Middle Corridor when urgency justifies it. Our WCA partner agent in the destination country clears it as your customs representative, handles CBAM and import VAT, and arranges delivery, unloading and rigging at your site.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does machinery imported from China need CE marking?
What changes with the EU Machinery Regulation in 2027?
Does CBAM apply to machinery imported from China?
Can heavy machinery go by train from China to Europe?
Machinery & Electrical Equipment 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.
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DDC — Authorized Representative in Kazakhstan