Worn (Used) Clothing and Textile Products U.S. exporters of worn (used) clothing and textile products face numerous restrictions and requirements when shipping their products to foreign markets, such as import bans, requirements for fumigation, proof of sanitation documents, and preshipment inspections. Exporting Worn Clothing: Foreign Restrictions and Requirements U.S. Trade Data on Worn Clothing and Textile Products U.S. Worn Clothing and Textile Products Industry Associations and Contacts Exporting Worn Clothing: Foreign Restrictions and Requirements The following table summarizes worn clothing exporting requirements in listed countries. Information contained in this table is provided only as a guide. It is important to check with your importer or the appropriate authorities to confirm current restrictions and requirements. COUNTRY RESTRICTION AND/OR BAN FUMIGATION CERTIFICATE REQUIRED? ADDITIONAL REGULATIONS Algeria YES - - Angola - YES - Argentina YES BAN EXCEPT FOR DONATIONS TO GOVERNMENT OR RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS Bangladesh - YES - Bolivia - YES PERMIT REQUIRED FROM MINISTRY OF HEALTH - THERE IS A TOTAL PROHIBITION FOR THE IMPORTATION OF WORN HATS, SHOES, UNDERWEAR AND LINGERIE. Botswana YES - - Brazil YES - "SEVERE RESTRICTIONS" Bulgaria YES YES - Cameroon - YES NO IMPORTATION OF WORN UNDERGARMENTS Chile - YES DUTY-FREE UNDER THE U.S.-CHILE FTA China YES - - Colombia YES YES SUBJECT TO IMPORT LICENSE, BUT NO IMPORT LICENSES ARE BEING ISSUED Costa Rica - YES - DR-CAFTA duty free Dominican Republic YES DR-CAFTA, worn clothing banned Ecuador YES - - El Salvador YES Used clothing and used rags must be accompanied by a health certificate issued by the competent authorities of the exporting country. Used clothing must be fumigated and certified in El Salvador prior to customs clearance and market entry. DR-CAFTA duty free Egypt - YES - Eritrea YES - - Ethiopia - - REQUIRES PRIOR APPROVAL/SUBJECT TO SPECIFIC DUTIES Ghana - YES 20% "SPECIAL TAX" LEVIED Greece - YES CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS APPLY Guatemala - - DR-CAFTA duty-free Haiti YES - - Honduras - YES DR-CAFTA duty-free Hungary - - IMPORT LICENSE REQUIRED Iceland - YES - India YES YES -Units in the Special Economic zone can sell worn clothing in the Domestic Tariff Area to the extent of 15% of the cif value of imports made in the previous year Indonesia YES - - Iran YES - - Israel YES - BAN ON IMPORTS OF SECONDS FABRICS; RESTRICTIONS ON IMPORTS OF WORN CLOTHING Kenya - YES - Lebanon - YES - Lesotho YES - - Liberia YES - EXCEPTION: WHEN SHIPMENTS CONSIGNED TO CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS Malawi YES YES - Mauritius YES - - Mexico YES - - Morocco YES - REQUIRES IMPORT LICENSE, WHICH IS NOT GRANTED Mozambique - YES - Namibia YES - NON-AUTOMATIC LICENSES APPLY TO IMPORTED WORN CLOTHING. IN PRACTICE, HOWEVER, LICENSES ARE NOT ISSUED, SERVING AS A DE FACTO BAN. Nicaragua YES prohibited under DR-CAFTA until 2016 Nigeria YES - - Pakistan - YES - Papua New Guinea - YES - Paraguay YES YES - Peru YES YES EXCEPTION: DONATED ITEMS Philippines YES - - St Kitts, Nevis - YES - St Lucia YES - - Saudi Arabia - YES - Sierra Leone - YES CONSULAR LEGALIZATION REQUIRED Somalia - YES - South Africa YES - IMPORT PERMITS ARE REQUIRED, AND ONLY GRANTED IF SUCH GOODS OR SUBSTITUTES ARE NOT MANUFACTURED DOMESTICALLY, CONSTITUTING A DE FACTO BAN. Sri Lanka - YES - Syria YES - - Tanzania - YES - Uganda - YES - Uruguay - YES - Venezuela YES - - Vietnam YES - - Return to Top of Page __________________________________________________________________________________ U.S. Trade Data on Worn Clothing and Textile Products Schedule B numbers are worn by the U.S. Census Bureau to classify exports. The following are the official Schedule B numbers and definitions for worn clothing and other worn textiles: 6309.00 - Worn clothing and other worn articles 6310.00 - Used or new rags, scrap twine, cordage, rope and cables, and worn-out articles of twine, cordage, rope or cables, of textile materials Click here for detailed, current export data, and look up by Schedule B code noted above. Return to Top of Page U.S. Worn Clothing and Textile Products Industry Associations and Contacts Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMART) 2105 Laurel Bush Rd., Ste. 200 Bel Air, MD 21015 Tel: (443) 640-1050 x105 Fax: (443) 640-1086 Email: jackie@ksgroup.org http://www.smartasn.org American Reusable Textile Association (ARTA) http://www.arta1.com/ Goodwill Industries International, Inc. 15810 Indianola Drive Rockville, MD 20855 Tel: (301) 530-6500 http://www.goodwill.org/ Return to Top of Page

Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA)
U.S. Department of Commerce
Washington, DC 20230
Phone: (202) 482-5078  |  Fax: (202) 482-2331
OTEXA@trade.gov

Clothing/Used Clothing: Many poor countries have regulations on used clothing and do not want to be overrun with such shipments. Used clothing usually must be certified as cleaned, sorted, billed, and fumigated. For large shipments, a fumigation company will fumigate the container with a special device that remains in the container during shipment and is removed upon arrival. For smaller shipments, a fumigation company can fumigate the clothing before shipment and include a certified letter verifying the fumigation process. Some used clothing shipments may also require a Food and Drug Administration certificate for imports from the United States.

Appears that your client should/must enlist the help of a fumigation company to do what is said above (underlined), prior to shipment leaving the U.S. You are most likely correct that, if the said action is not done prior to the shipment leaving here, Burundi will not take ownership of the goods upon entry into their port.

CS Used Clothing Client Policy

The Commercial Service strives to provide exceptional customer service to help U.S. companies, especially small- and medium-sized, export overseas. Due to various limitations and constraints, however, we are not able to help every U.S. exporter. Periodically, CS domestic offices and overseas posts receive export assistance requests from used-clothing companies located in the Unites States. Due to the nature of the client’s expectations, obstacles the targeted overseas market presents, and limited CS resources, we might not be able to provide assistance to used-clothing clients in finding partners overseas.

For the following reasons, the Commercial Service can decide not to work with used-clothing companies:

„ Traditional Commercial Service (CS) products and services, such as the Gold Key Service, might not be successful in helping used-clothing companies find partners overseas. Posts have reported that CS services, particularly matchmaking services, previously arranged for used clothing exporters were typically unsuccessful, with bona fide potential buyers difficult to identify and clients dissatisfied.

„ Oftentimes, it may be difficult to determine if used clothes are goods produced in the United States, which is a statutory prerequisite for CS assistance.

„ Due to the need to optimally allocate scarce resources, CS Posts and USEACs have managerial discretion to reasonably prioritize their workload. Given the limited resources that CS has and the many demands that are put on the organization, it would be reasonable for CS to determine that there are more effective ways of using those resources to consistently get more U.S. export utility by servicing other sectors.

If Post and the USEAC determine that CS involvement is appropriate and the targeted market is viable for the used-clothing clients, a U.S. export or local U.S. business interest is at stake, and resources are available, then the Commercial Service can offer assistance to used-clothing clients on a cost-recovery basis. Alternatively, to facilitate potential partnerships, we can provide used-clothing clients located in the U.S. a list of local used- clothing companies in the targeted overseas market whereupon they can make direct contact.

Past OTEXA cases:

Cameroon: In September 2001, the Government of Cameroon (GOC) announced its intention to ban imports of worn clothing for health reasons, specifically citing HIV/AIDS and skin diseases. A Department of Commerce textile compliance team intervened and expressed U.S. government concern about this new restriction and provided documentation in the form of a letter from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) that there is no known risk of contracting HIV/AIDS from wearing worn clothing. As a result of intervention by the U.S. Government, the GOC only implemented a ban on worn undergarments as opposed to all types of worn clothing.

Mali: In April 2002, OTEXA received a complaint that a U.S. worn clothing exporter was facing discriminatory duties, roughly twice that of shipments from Belgium and France. A Department of Commerce textile compliance team assisted the Government of Mali in implementing their Customs Valuation Agreement, resulting in equal treatment for U.S. exporters.

Tanzania: In April 2002, the Government of Tanzania (GOT) proposed restrictive measures on worn clothing, including a rigorous inspection process, bale size limits, and grading and sorting standards. A Department of Commerce textile compliance team, through diplomatic channels, successfully persuaded the GOT not to implement these restrictive measures.

East African Customs Union: In January 2005, the Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMART) brought to our attention that the East African Customs Union (EACU), comprised of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, significantly raised duties on worn clothing. A U.S. Department of Commerce trade compliance team raised this issue with the EACU. As a result of U.S. Government and local industry opposition, EACU officials repealed the high tariffs back to their previous rates. Shortly after, however, the EACU once again raised duties on worn clothing, although to lower rates than previously administered. We continue to work with our Embassies and the United States Trade Representative to address these high tariffs and encourage the EACU to lower duties on worn clothing to previous rates.