Shipping Apparel from Turkey to Europe and the USA

Production ends at the factory gate. Your deadline is at your warehouse, and the distance between the two is a series of decisions that are much easier to make before an order than after it. This guide covers how apparel actually moves out of Turkey, what has to be agreed, and what the buyer is responsible for.

Incoterms: what you are actually agreeing

Incoterms are standard trade terms published by the International Chamber of Commerce, currently in the Incoterms 2020 edition. They define where the seller's responsibility ends and the buyer's begins: who arranges transport, who bears the cost at each stage, where risk transfers, and who handles export and import formalities. They do not decide payment terms or transfer of ownership.

Two practical points. FOB, CFR and CIF are written for sea and inland waterway transport, so using FOB for a truck leaving Turkey by road or for an air shipment is a common and avoidable error. FCA is normally the correct term for container and road movements. And DDP places import clearance on the seller, which requires the seller to be able to act as importer in your country; many manufacturers cannot, so do not assume DDP is available simply because it is convenient.

The current rules are published by the International Chamber of Commerce.

Never compare two prices on different terms

An EXW price and a DDP price for the same garment are not comparable, because one excludes transport, export handling, freight, insurance, duty and clearance and the other includes them. This is a frequent error in supplier comparison, and it can reverse the apparent ranking of two quotations.

State the Incoterm and the named place in every request for quotation, and convert every reply to the same basis before comparing. The RFQ guide includes it in the list of things to send.

Routes and modes from Turkey

Air freight is where packing decisions become expensive. Because charges are based on volumetric weight where that exceeds actual weight, bulky garments such as heavyweight hoodies cost more to fly than their weight suggests. If air is likely, discuss carton sizes and compression before packing is finalised, as covered in the labels and packaging guide.

Shipping into the European Union

Industrial goods, including apparel, circulate free of customs duty between the EU and Türkiye under their customs union, provided the goods are in free circulation and the shipment is accompanied by an A.TR movement certificate. This is a genuine structural advantage for European buyers and one of the reasons Turkish production is competitive on landed cost, as discussed in the Turkey and China comparison and in the wider view of apparel manufacturing in Türkiye.

• Confirm that an A.TR will be issued for your shipment, and that your forwarder and broker know to expect it. It evidences free circulation rather than origin, a distinction set out in what an A.TR proves.
• Import VAT and any national charges still apply, even where customs duty does not.
• Keep in mind that the customs union covers industrial products; other categories follow different arrangements.
• For the United Kingdom, a separate arrangement applies and preferential treatment depends on rules of origin and correct documentation. Confirm the position for your product with your customs broker.

Official information on the customs union is published by the European Commission through Access2Markets.

Shipping into the United States

There is no equivalent duty-free arrangement, so apparel from Turkey is a dutiable import. The importer of record is responsible for classification, valuation, duty and compliance.

• Classify every style under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule before shipping, since apparel classification is detailed and drives the duty rate.
• Check the current rate close to your shipping date, because tariff measures have changed repeatedly since 2025.
• Arrange a customs bond for formal entries, either single transaction or continuous.
• Ensure country of origin marking meets both customs and labelling requirements, as covered in the US labelling guide.
• Hold supply-chain documentation for fibre origin, since forced-labour due diligence rests with the importer.

The documents a shipment needs

• Commercial invoice, with an accurate description, quantities, values and the Incoterm.
• Packing list, with carton contents, counts, dimensions and gross and net weights.
• Transport document: a CMR for road, a bill of lading for sea, an air waybill for air.
• A.TR movement certificate for goods in free circulation moving between Türkiye and the EU.
• Certificate of origin where the destination or your customer requires it.
• Export declaration on the Turkish side.
• Any product-specific documentation your broker or customer requires, such as test reports or material certificates.

Errors in the invoice and packing list are a common cause of delay at clearance, and they are entirely preventable. Check descriptions, quantities and values against the actual shipment before it leaves.

What the buyer is responsible for

1. 1Choosing the Incoterm and named place, and stating it in the order.
2. 2Appointing a freight forwarder and a customs broker, unless the term places that on the seller.
3. 3Acting as importer of record, or appointing someone who will.
4. 4Paying duties, import VAT and clearance charges as the term allocates them.
5. 5Arranging insurance where the term does not include it. Do not assume goods are insured because they are in transit.
6. 6Confirming that labelling and marking meet the destination country's requirements before shipment, not on arrival.
7. 7Providing the delivery address and receiving constraints, including any unloading limitations.

Practical points that save time

• Agree packing and carton marking before production ends. Repacking at origin is expensive and repacking at destination is worse.
• Ask for carton dimensions and weights before booking freight, so the forwarder quotes on real figures.
• Decide flat-packed or hanging garment shipment early, since it changes packing, carton and transport requirements.
• For programmes with several deliveries, plan shipments alongside production rather than treating each as a separate exercise, as covered in the scaling guide.
• If your date is tight, ask what the realistic transit and clearance time is for your destination rather than only the production time. See the lead time guide.

How this works with Voyager Textile

Voyager Textile prepares the commercial documentation international shipments require and coordinates handover to your forwarder or your agreed logistics arrangement. The applicable Incoterm and delivery arrangement are agreed per project rather than fixed, so raise your preferred term at quotation stage and it will be priced on that basis. Export preparation is part of the standard production sequence described in how we work.