Sourcing furniture from Turkey makes the most sense for buyers in Europe, the UK, the Middle East and North Africa who want upholstered furniture and bedding with short supply lines, duty-free or preferential entry and room to vary models and fabrics within one container. China still wins on scale, price on long runs and breadth of components; Vietnam is strong in wooden furniture for the US; Poland is the nearest option for many EU buyers. For US buyers, the tariff picture now matters as much as the factory.
This comparison is written by ellda mobilya, a furniture manufacturer in Kayseri, Türkiye, producing sofa sets, corner sofas, bed base sets and mattresses since 2010. We obviously have an interest in Türkiye, so we have tried to say plainly where other origins are the better choice. Tariff facts below are as of November 2026 (last verified 2026-11-06); check the current rate with your customs broker before you order.
Sourcing furniture from Turkey vs China, Vietnam and Poland at a glance
The table is a starting point for a shortlist, not a ranking. The right origin depends on your market, your product mix and how much stock you want to hold.
| Factor | Türkiye | China | Vietnam | Poland |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Route to EU buyers | Road freight or short sea lanes; customs union with A.TR | Long ocean lane | Long ocean lane | Inside the EU single market, no customs formalities |
| Route to UK buyers | Road or sea; UK–Türkiye trade agreement | Long ocean lane, no FTA | Long ocean lane, UK–Vietnam FTA | Road or sea; UK–EU agreement with origin rules |
| Route to US buyers | Long ocean lane | Long ocean lane | Long ocean lane | Long ocean lane |
| Typical strength | Upholstered seating, storage bed bases, headboards, mixed loads | Scale, low unit price on long runs, component supply | Wooden furniture, large US-facing programmes | Upholstered furniture close to EU retail |
| Where it is weaker | Price on very long runs of simple items | Distance, minimum runs, US trade measures | US trade measures, smaller upholstery base | Labour cost compared with Asia |
The weaknesses column is our reading of the market, not an official statistic. Test it against quotes from each origin.
How do tariffs compare in the US, EU and UK?
Tariffs now separate these origins more than freight does. The figures below apply to goods entered on or after the dates shown and change often, so treat this as a snapshot.
United States
- Section 232 on upholstered wooden seats. Sofas, armchairs and corner sofas with wooden frames carry a 25% additional duty under heading 9903.76.02 for most countries, including Türkiye, China and Vietnam. CBP's guidance sets lower rates for the UK (10%) and EU member states such as Poland (15%). Proclamation 11000 raises the standard rate to 30% on 1 January 2027, except for countries that reach an agreement with the US. Our Section 232 tracker follows the changes.
- Section 301, forced labour action. Since 24 July 2026, goods of Türkiye, China and Vietnam pay an additional 12.5%, while goods of EU member states fall under separate headings, according to CBP CSMS #69326983. The same message lists wood products among the Section 232 goods excluded from this duty, so an upholstered sofa should carry one of the two layers, not both. Confirm this per HTS line with your broker.
- China only. Goods of China also remain subject to the Section 301 tariff actions that began in 2018 (USTR). Check the rate and any exclusion for each HTS line.
- Trade remedies on bedding. In October 2026 the USITC kept the antidumping orders on mattresses from Türkiye and Vietnam, among others, and the countervailing duty order on mattresses from China. China also has a long-standing antidumping order on wooden bedroom furniture, continued after the 2022 USITC review.
For a US buyer, Türkiye does not escape the seating duty that China and Vietnam pay, and an EU origin such as Poland currently pays less on upholstered wooden seating. Türkiye's case in the US rests on design and range, not on tariff advantage. Mattresses from Türkiye are hard to price for the US because of the antidumping order.
European Union
Furniture made in Türkiye moves into the EU without customs duty under the EU–Türkiye customs union, provided the shipment travels with an A.TR movement certificate (European Commission). Poland is inside the single market, so an EU buyer pays no duty and files no import declaration at all. Vietnam has a free trade agreement with the EU in force since 1 August 2020 (European Commission), with preference depending on rules of origin. Chinese furniture pays the normal EU rate for each line in TARIC. Import VAT applies to every non-EU origin.
Our EU import guide covers the A.TR, VAT and product safety duties in detail.
United Kingdom
The UK trades with Türkiye under its own agreement, and preference is claimed with an origin declaration, not an A.TR (gov.uk). Vietnam also has an agreement with the UK. Goods from Poland enter under the UK–EU agreement, which removes tariffs only where rules of origin are met. China has no FTA with the UK, so the UK Global Tariff applies. See our UK import guide for the rates we checked by commodity code.
Transit time and the cost of distance
Distance matters more for upholstered furniture than for most goods, because a container of sofas is full by volume long before it is heavy. Freight is therefore a large share of the landed cost of every piece, and a long lane also ties up cash in stock at sea.
For buyers in Europe, Türkiye offers options Asia cannot: trucks and trailers by road, short sea lanes across the Mediterranean, and the possibility of smaller, more frequent deliveries. Poland is closer still for Central and Northern Europe and delivers by road. From China and Vietnam, European and US buyers depend on long ocean lanes and the schedule risk that comes with them.
For US buyers the distance advantage disappears: Türkiye, China and Vietnam are all long ocean lanes to American ports. Ask each forwarder for a door-to-door schedule from the factory to your warehouse rather than comparing port-to-port figures, and put the numbers into a landed cost worksheet.
Design, range and order flexibility
Design. Turkish upholstery follows European and Middle Eastern taste closely: large sofa sets, corner sofas for open-plan rooms, tall upholstered headboards and storage bed bases. Chinese factories can make almost any style, but buyers usually supply or approve designs from a catalogue built for many markets. Polish makers tend to follow Western European retail lines.
Range in one load. A mixed container combines several product groups in one shipment. Many Turkish upholstery factories make seating and bedding under one roof, which lets a store test sofas, bed bases and mattresses together. Our guide to mixed containers explains how to plan one.
Flexibility. Large Asian factories are built around long runs of one specification, which gives them their unit price. Turkish and Polish factories more often accept several models and fabrics in one order, but every factory sets its own limits. Ask for minimum quantities per model and per fabric in writing, whichever origin you choose.
Where China wins. If you sell high volumes of a few simple models, need flat-pack or ready-to-assemble pieces, or source hardware, mechanisms and fabrics from one supply base, China is hard to beat on unit cost. Vietnam is a strong choice for solid wood and case goods, and Poland for EU buyers who want domestic-market speed with no customs work.
Checklist: questions to put to every origin
Use the same list for every supplier so the answers are comparable:
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Which HTS or commodity code does your broker assign to each piece? | Duty, trade remedies and Section 232 follow the code |
| Which preference document comes with the shipment (A.TR, origin declaration, none)? | Missing paperwork turns a duty-free load into a dutiable one |
| What is the minimum per model and per fabric? | Decides whether you can test a range |
| Can seating and bedding travel in one container? | Container fill and per-piece freight |
| What packing and loading plan is used? | Damage risk on long lanes |
| Which compliance requirement applies in your market (16 CFR 1640, UK fire rules, GPSR)? | Must be confirmed before production |
| Door-to-door schedule from the factory to your warehouse | Cash tied up in stock |
How ellda mobilya fits a Turkey vs China decision
We are a manufacturer in Kayseri Organized Industrial Zone, with a 10,500 m² production area and 80 models across four product groups: sofa sets, corner sofas, bed base sets and mattresses. All four can be combined in one shipment, and export orders are packed for long-distance transport with a loading plan shared with the quote.
We do not publish prices or minimums. Price, lead time, minimum quantities and delivery terms are stated in the quote, together with any compliance requirement you name in the enquiry. We communicate in English, Arabic and Turkish, and buyers can visit the factory by appointment. If you are still choosing between Turkish factories, our guide to furniture suppliers in Turkey explains how to tell a manufacturer from a trader.
Next step
Ask your broker for the duty on each line from each origin, then send the same model list and destination to every shortlisted supplier. To include a Turkish manufacturer in the comparison, send your list through our export page.