Brassware From India: Which Town, What the US Really Charges and Where Lead Becomes Your Problem

On 28 September 2026 a Californian sent a legal notice to Amazon and one of its sellers over a two-pack of brass dice. The claim is lead. The notice asks for a recall of what's been sold, a warning label or a reformulation, and a penalty (California Attorney General, 60-day notice 2026-04633 (opens in a new tab)). Nothing in it says the dice came from India, and it's an allegation, not a finding. But read to the last page, where the retailer is asked to hand over "the name and contact information for the manufacturer, producer, packager, importer, supplier, and distributor". If you import brass into the US, your name is on that list.

That's how the American market really finds a brass importer. Not at the border, mostly, but through a retailer, a lab or a private notice after the goods are on sale. So this page spends most of its time on the two things a US buyer of Indian brass gets wrong: the duty, which depends on a classification call worth forty percentage points, and lead, which three separate US systems look at in three different ways. The towns come first, briefly. What to specify, solid or plated, alloy and coating, is on the global brassware page. Our shipment records are US records, and we publish no prices.

Which Town For Which Brass

Decor and gifts: Moradabad. The state calls it "Brass City", its metal craft is GI-tagged, and it leads the decor line in our US count (UP ODOP (opens in a new tab)). Its export houses are mixed-metal, which the Moradabad cluster page explains along with the depot and fairs.

Locks and hardware: Aligarh. Brass sits there beside steel and iron, so ask what the lock body actually is. Start at locks and the Aligarh cluster.

Parts to a drawing: Jamnagar. A District Industries Centre official put the Gujarat cluster at nearly 8,000 units supplying railways, defence and export buyers with components (IANS, 18 February 2026 (opens in a new tab)). If a Jamnagar name turns up when you're looking for a bowl, you've found the wrong trade. If you need turned fittings, it's the right one.

Mixed home decor: Jaipur. Brass sits among stone, wood and textile ranges (Jaipur cluster). A specific craft piece: Thanjavur, whose GI art plate is a brass base with copper and silver overlay (Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) (opens in a new tab)).

One Moradabad Order, Three US Duty Bills

Here's a worked case. Your Moradabad range has a hammered brass serving bowl, a brass elephant and a brass photo frame. We read the rates and annexes on 5 October 2026 (USITC (opens in a new tab), Annexes I-A to IV (opens in a new tab)).

Since 6 April 2026 the 232 duty applies to the full customs value regardless of how much copper is in the piece (Federal Register, 9 April 2026 (opens in a new tab)). Older guides that say it applies only to the metal content are out of date. Goods on a 232 list don't pay the 301 duty as well, which the US page explains.

Now the hard part. Which heading a piece belongs in is a judgement, and an easy one to argue. A bowl that's mostly decorative but holds fruit, an ornament that's also a candle holder, a gift set. Put the same hammered piece in 7418 and it pays 50%. Put it in 8306 and it pays about 10%. We haven't classified your product and a table can't. Check this with your customs broker before you price, and arrive with a proposed code from HS codes.

Other borders are calm by comparison.

• UK. 0% on table and kitchen lines, copper articles and ornaments, 2% on frames, and 0% for Indian goods under the deal since 15 July 2026 (UK Trade Tariff (opens in a new tab), India to the UK).
• Australia. 5% base and 0% under ECTA with origin proof (India to Australia).
• New Zealand. 5% until the FTA starts on 20 October 2026, then 0% (India to New Zealand).
• EU. India lost its GSP preference on base metals for 2026 to 2028, so the normal rate applies. Look it up in TARIC (India to the EU).
• UAE. We didn't check brass lines, so ask your clearing agent (India to the UAE).

Lead, Three Ways

Lead is often alloyed into brass because it makes the metal easier to cast and machine. That's metallurgy, not an Indian failing. What matters is that the US looks at it through three systems, each with its own trigger.

If it touches food, the FDA. In December 2024 the agency wrote to retailers about cookware "made from aluminum, brass, and aluminum alloys" that leached lead, and pointed to its leach test, a two-hour boil and a 24-hour hold (FDA, 12 December 2024 (opens in a new tab)). It added more products in 2025 (FDA (opens in a new tab)). Our 27 refused foodware lines are the border side of the same story, though we can't say they were brass. For a bowl, thali, tumbler or serving spoon meant for food, ask for a lead leach test from an accredited lab on the finished item. If it isn't meant for food, say so on the product.

If it's sold in California, Proposition 65. Lead is a listed chemical with a safe harbour of 0.5 micrograms a day (OEHHA (opens in a new tab)). Enforcement is private, through notices like the dice one. The usual answers are a clear warning or a low-lead alloy.

If it's for children, CPSIA. Accessible parts of a children's product can't exceed 100 ppm lead, with a third-party test and a Children's Product Certificate (CPSC (opens in a new tab)). A brass bell on a nursery mobile counts. A brass elephant on a shelf doesn't, unless you sell it as a child's item.

European and British limits for metalware are on the handicrafts page. And none of our three alert lists, 130 EU alerts, 45 US recalls and 36 UK reports on India-origin goods, names a brass bowl or ornament. The risk with brass isn't usually a stopped container. It's a test or a notice that finds you after the sale.

Who Casts Your Order

A family asked an Indian business forum in March 2026 how to revive their father's metal handicraft business, and one reply explained that "usually these products are made on order so they are not mass produced. Scaling here means getting in touch with more exporters" (r/IndiaBusiness, March 2026 (opens in a new tab)). That's how the trade works. A workshop casts and engraves, an export house sells. Don't mark an exporter down for it. Ask three things instead: who casts and polishes, and can I visit? What's the alloy, in writing? Which lacquer or plating goes on top? The coating is the second place lead and nickel can hide.

If you want the workshop seen and the batch checked, SourcingSync (opens in a new tab) can do that. To size up the exporter first, use verifying Indian suppliers and manufacturer or trader. Moradabad is inland, about 1,130 km from Mundra in a straight line, so quote FCA at the named depot and see the inland cost on its own line.

The IHGF Delhi Fair runs 13 to 17 October 2026 at Greater Noida. Its exhibitors are registered exporters, which tells you who ships, not who casts, so ask each stand for the workshop address.

Before The Purchase Order

• The alloy and any coating in writing, part by part.
• A decision on food contact, and a lead leach test on the finished item if yes.
• The customs code you expect, confirmed by your broker.
• For California, your warning or your test, decided before you list.
• The casting and finishing sites, and the right to visit them.

Questions Buyers Ask

Back To The Dice

The dice notice will end in a settlement, a warning label or nothing. What it shows is that a brass importer gets found through the retailer, long after customs waved the goods through. So pick the town that fits your product, settle the heading before you quote, and test what touches food. Then the supplier question is the usual one, and the answer to it is a workshop address you've actually visited. Other products are in the India product guides.