Chile is South America’s most open apparel market: no safeguards, no reference prices and mostly zero duty. What remains are the labelling rules, the new tax on low-value online sales and textiles under the recycling law. Here is the full picture.
Chile has the most open apparel market in South America. There are no safeguards, minimum import prices or quotas on clothing and footwear, and with trade agreements covering China and other Asian suppliers, the EU, the US and Mercosur, most garments and shoes enter at 0% duty. Add 19% VAT, recoverable by registered importers, and the tax side is done.
The rules that remain are about the product, not the border: mandatory labels for textiles and footwear, a Spanish-language consumer-protection framework, the 2025 overhaul of low-value online imports and, coming next, textiles as a priority product under Chile’s recycling law. Competition, not regulation, is the main barrier. For the general tax stack and the broker rule, see our Chile customs guide.
Knitted apparel (HS 61), woven apparel (62), other made-up textiles (63), footwear (64), and textile inputs such as yarns and fabrics (50–60) all pay Chile’s uniform 6% on CIF, removed under trade agreements with proof of origin. Chile’s agreement with China, its largest supplier of apparel and footwear, gives 0% on these lines.
Anti-dumping and safeguards
None identified on apparel or footwear as of October 2026; Chile’s recent trade remedies concern steel.
Minimum or reference prices
Chile does not use them. Customs can still challenge undervalued declarations under WTO valuation rules, and may adjust a provisional value within 18 months.
Used clothing
Import of second-hand clothing (heading 6309) is allowed and is a large trade, much of it landed and sorted in the Iquique free zone (ZOFRI) before moving into Chile or on to neighbouring countries. Goods leaving the free zone for the rest of Chile pay the normal duty and VAT. Used goods can carry extra charges and often fall outside agreement preferences, so have your broker confirm the full treatment of the line and origin before you price a used-clothing shipment.
Law and practice: Uniform 6% tariff: see our Chile customs guide; Law 21.713 for valuation adjustments.
| CIF US$100,000 of new apparel | Non-agreement origin | Agreement origin (China, EU, US, Paraguay under ACE 35…) |
|---|---|---|
| Duty | 6,000 | 0 |
| VAT 19% | 20,140 | 19,000 |
| Total at clearance | 26,140 | 19,000 |
| Pure cost for a VAT-registered importer | 6,000 | 0 |
Clothing and footwear carry no excise or luxury tax in Chile; the 15% luxury tax applies to items such as jewellery and fine furs, not to fashion. For a VAT-registered importer, the difference between an agreement and a non-agreement origin is just the 6% duty — which is why the certificate of origin matters most for retailers working on thin margins.
| Channel | How it is taxed |
|---|---|
| B2B container to a Chilean importer | 6% or 0% duty and 19% VAT at clearance; broker above US$1,000 FOB |
| Online sale up to US$500 by a seller or platform registered with the SII | 19% VAT at checkout; no duty or import VAT at the border |
| Online sale up to US$500, VAT not collected | Duty and VAT at import, paid by the customer |
| Online sale above US$500 | Normal import: duty and VAT |
For years, Asian platforms shipped clothing to Chilean consumers under a US$41 tax-free threshold. Since 25 October 2025 that exemption is gone. Foreign sellers and platforms that sell goods up to US$500 to Chilean consumers register with the tax authority (SII) under a simplified regime and charge 19% VAT at checkout; the parcel then clears without duty or import VAT. Large platforms have registered, and the new regime raised over US$41 million in its first quarter.
For a fashion brand selling direct to Chilean consumers, the regime is a choice: register and collect VAT, keeping the delivery smooth, or let the customer pay duty and VAT at the door. For B2B shipments to retailers, nothing changed.
Law and practice: SII Exempt Resolution 103/2025; Customs Exempt Resolution 3507/2025.
Textile products and clothing sold in Chile must carry a label under Decree 26 of 1984 of the Ministry of Economy, the regulation on labelling and care symbols for textiles, labelling of woven fabrics and labelling of clothing (Reglamento de rotulación y símbolo para el cuidado de los textiles; rotulación de tejidos planos, y rotulación del vestuario). For garments, the label must be embroidered or printed, sewn firmly to the inside of the garment and written in Spanish, and must show:
Who
The name of the manufacturer or importer, or its registered trade mark.
Origin
The country of manufacture.
Fibre content
The name and percentage of the fibres in the main fabric.
Size
A size code.
Care
Care symbols for washing, bleaching, ironing and dry cleaning, following the Chilean standard NCh 1209.
Claims
Any special finishing claim, such as “does not shrink”, must be stated and true.
Used clothing of foreign origin has its own, shorter label: the country from which it was imported, the importer’s name and the words “Ropa Usada” in prominent characters, plus a size code (S, M, L or XL).
In practice, garments made for international brands with sewn-in labels showing fibre composition, origin and ISO care symbols need only a Spanish complement and the importer’s details, often on a swing tag or an added label. The general Consumer Protection Law (Law 19.496) requires basic commercial information in Spanish and is enforced by SERNAC; misleading fibre claims are a classic infringement.
Law and practice: Decree 26 of the Ministry of Economy, Development and Reconstruction, published 22 March 1984, arts. 21–24 (clothing labels), as amended; NCh 1209 (care symbols).
Footwear has its own regulation: Decree 17 of 2006 of the Ministry of Economy, which repealed the earlier Decree 27 of 1984 and has applied since 1 May 2007. It covers all new footwear in chapter 64, plus orthopaedic footwear, of any origin sold in Chile; safety footwear and toy-like footwear are excluded. The label must be in Spanish, visible and firmly attached at least to the right shoe, and must show:
Size
The shoe size number.
Origin
The country of manufacture.
Materials
The material of each of three parts, stated separately: upper (capellada), lining (forro) and sole (planta).
Who
The name and tax number (RUT) of the Chilean manufacturer or importer.
Size, origin and materials must be shown by a permanent indelible mark or a printed or embroidered label sewn to the shoe; the importer’s name and RUT may also go on a sticker or tag. “CUERO” (leather) may be used only for parts made entirely of leather; synthetic parts must carry the generic name, such as PVC or polyurethane, never “synthetic leather”; bonded leather fibre must be called “fibra de cuero aglomerada”. For mixed materials, state each material of 80% or more with its percentage, or otherwise the two main materials with percentages.
Timing matters: imported footwear must be labelled in the country of origin, and the label must already be on the shoe when the import declaration is accepted. Chilean Customs checks this before goods leave the primary zone; where labels are missing, the broker has to arrange a supervised inspection and relabelling. Shoes bought online for personal use and non-commercial samples are not required to carry the label.
Mislabelling synthetic materials as leather is the most common risk; check supplier declarations before printing labels for the Chilean market.
Law and practice: Decree 17 of the Ministry of Economy, Development and Reconstruction, published 27 April 2006, arts. 2 and 4–10, as amended by Decree 308 of 2006; NCh 1808.Of2004; Customs Circular Letters 513/2006 and 233/2013.
Chile’s extended producer responsibility law (Law 20.920) treats importers as producers. Packaging targets have applied since September 2023. In June 2025, the Ministry of the Environment added textiles as a seventh priority product (Exempt Resolution 3914/2025), starting the drafting of a decree with collection and recovery targets.
Now
Producers — manufacturers, importers and own-brand sellers — register in the pollutant release register (RETC) and declare the quantities placed on the market each year.
Next
Once the goals decree is issued, producers must organise and finance the collection and recovery of textile waste, individually or through a collective system.
Context
The dumping of imported used clothing in the Atacama desert is part of the public debate; expect closer scrutiny of the second-hand trade.
Law and practice: Law 20.920; Ministry of the Environment Exempt Resolution 3914 of 16 June 2025.
Paraguay is not a large apparel exporter to Chile; its garment and textile industry works mainly for the Brazilian market under the maquila regime. Under ACE 35 Paraguayan-origin clothing and footwear enter Chile at 0% with a certificate of origin — the same as Chinese goods under Chile’s agreement with China, so the preference is not a competitive edge on price.
Origin test
Garments sewn in Paraguay from imported fabric must meet the ACE 35 rule of origin for apparel; Paraguay has not yet ratified the 2025 origin protocol, so the older rules apply.
Niche
Leather goods and footwear made from Paraguayan hides, and cotton or ao po’i textiles, are realistic niches.
Labels
Produce a Chile-specific label run: fibre percentages, country of manufacture, importer details and NCh 1209 care symbols.
HS 61, 62, 63 or 64 line; check origin rules under the relevant agreement.
Fibre content, origin, size, care symbols; footwear size, origin, materials and importer RUT under Decree 17/2006.
Chilean company with RUT; broker above US$1,000 FOB.
Defensible prices and invoices; customs can review within 18 months.
Decide whether to register with the SII for sales up to US$500.
Register in the RETC as a producer of packaging and textiles.
PROMPERÚ — Chile apparel market profile and labelling · BCN Ley Chile — Decree 26/1984 (textile and clothing labelling) · BCN Ley Chile — Decree 17/2006 (footwear labelling) · Chilean Customs — Circular Letter 233/2013 on footwear labelling · Garrigues — textiles added to the REP law · Prieto — REP decrees status · Carey — REP packaging targets in force
6% on CIF, or 0% under a trade agreement with proof of origin; most suppliers, including China, have an agreement with Chile.
None identified as of October 2026. Chile also uses no minimum or reference import prices.
Manufacturer or importer (or trade mark), country of manufacture, fibre names and percentages, size code and care symbols under NCh 1209.
Yes, by Decree 17 of 2006: size, country of manufacture, the material of upper, lining and sole, and the importer’s name and RUT, in Spanish. Imported shoes must be labelled before the import declaration is accepted.
No. The US$41 exemption ended on 25 October 2025; goods up to US$500 carry 19% VAT collected by the registered seller or at import.
Yes. It is a large trade, much of it through the Iquique free zone. Check the duty, any used-goods charges and whether agreement preferences apply with your broker; textiles are also now a priority product under the recycling law.
No, with a valid ACE 35 certificate of origin meeting the apparel rule of origin.
A flat 6%, mostly zero; broker rule and online sales.
Tariffs, VAT and border charges compared.
Tell us the product, its origin and who will import it. We check tariff, permits and labelling and set up the importer — fixed quote within one business day.
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