Brassware From India, US Duty and Lead Rules

A two-pack of brass dice landed Amazon and one of its sellers a legal notice from a Californian on 28 September 2026. 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 rather than a finding. But do 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 then your name is on that list.

That's how the American market usually finds a brass importer, through a retailer, a lab or a private notice once the goods are already on sale, and much less often at the border. So this page spends most of its time on the two things US buyers of Indian brass get wrong -

• the duty, which hangs on a classification call worth forty percentage points
• 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 don't publish 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 is really made of. 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 hunting for a bowl then you've wandered into the wrong trade. For turned fittings, though, it's exactly 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

Say your Moradabad range has a hammered brass serving bowl, a brass elephant and a brass photo frame. What does each one pay? 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 on top, as the US page explains.

Now for the hard part. Which heading a piece belongs in is a judgement call, and an easy one to argue either way - think of a mostly decorative bowl that holds fruit, an ornament that doubles as a candle holder, or a gift set. Put the same hammered piece in 7418 and it pays 50%, but put it in 8306 and it pays about 10%.

We haven't classified your product, and no table can. Check it with your customs broker before you price, and turn up with a proposed code from HS codes.

Every other border is 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 came into force 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 plain metallurgy, and Indian makers aren't doing anything odd. 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 then 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, and the usual fix is either 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, while 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. With brass, the risk you should actually plan for is a test or a notice that finds you after the sale, and a stopped container is the rarer worry.

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 simply how the trade works. A workshop casts and engraves, and an export house sells, so 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?

That last one matters more than buyers expect, because 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 next runs 15 to 19 March 2027 at Greater Noida. Its exhibitors are registered exporters, which tells you who ships but 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 at all. Either way it shows how 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 anything that touches food. After that the supplier question is the usual one, and the best answer to it is a workshop address you've actually stood in.

Brass not the whole story for you? The India product guides cover the rest.