diff --git a/plugins/woocommerce/changelog/46505-wrong-error-message-in-importer b/plugins/woocommerce/changelog/46505-wrong-error-message-in-importer
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..63021e96dc8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/woocommerce/changelog/46505-wrong-error-message-in-importer
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+Significance: patch
+Type: fix
+
+Fixes wrong error message when importing products with existing SKU.
diff --git a/plugins/woocommerce/includes/import/class-wc-product-csv-importer.php b/plugins/woocommerce/includes/import/class-wc-product-csv-importer.php
index 804426ed9aa..4c681b846fb 100644
--- a/plugins/woocommerce/includes/import/class-wc-product-csv-importer.php
+++ b/plugins/woocommerce/includes/import/class-wc-product-csv-importer.php
@@ -1135,18 +1135,6 @@ class WC_Product_CSV_Importer extends WC_Product_Importer {
 				$sku_exists  = $product && 'importing' !== $product->get_status();
 			}
 
-			if ( $id_exists && ! $update_existing ) {
-				$data['skipped'][] = new WP_Error(
-					'woocommerce_product_importer_error',
-					esc_html__( 'A product with this ID already exists.', 'woocommerce' ),
-					array(
-						'id'  => $id,
-						'row' => $this->get_row_id( $parsed_data ),
-					)
-				);
-				continue;
-			}
-
 			if ( $sku_exists && ! $update_existing ) {
 				$data['skipped'][] = new WP_Error(
 					'woocommerce_product_importer_error',
@@ -1159,6 +1147,18 @@ class WC_Product_CSV_Importer extends WC_Product_Importer {
 				continue;
 			}
 
+			if ( $id_exists && ! $update_existing ) {
+				$data['skipped'][] = new WP_Error(
+					'woocommerce_product_importer_error',
+					esc_html__( 'A product with this ID already exists.', 'woocommerce' ),
+					array(
+						'id'  => $id,
+						'row' => $this->get_row_id( $parsed_data ),
+					)
+				);
+				continue;
+			}
+
 			if ( $update_existing && ( isset( $parsed_data['id'] ) || isset( $parsed_data['sku'] ) ) && ! $id_exists && ! $sku_exists ) {
 				$data['skipped'][] = new WP_Error(
 					'woocommerce_product_importer_error',
diff --git a/plugins/woocommerce/tests/php/includes/importer/class-wc-product-csv-importer-test.php b/plugins/woocommerce/tests/php/includes/importer/class-wc-product-csv-importer-test.php
index 35a234c48ca..f530a80962c 100644
--- a/plugins/woocommerce/tests/php/includes/importer/class-wc-product-csv-importer-test.php
+++ b/plugins/woocommerce/tests/php/includes/importer/class-wc-product-csv-importer-test.php
@@ -88,4 +88,33 @@ class WC_Product_CSV_Importer_Test extends \WC_Unit_Test_Case {
 
 		$this->assertEquals( 100, $importer->get_percent_complete() );
 	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @testdox Test that the importer skips updating products with the same SKU.
+	 */
+	public function test_import_skipping_existing_product_sku_46505() {
+		$product = WC_Helper_Product::create_simple_product();
+		$product->set_sku( '46505-sku' );
+		$product->save();
+
+		$csv_file = __DIR__ . '/import-skipping-existing-products-46505-data.csv';
+		$args     = array(
+			'parse'   => true,
+			'mapping' => array(
+				'ID'  => 'id',
+				'SKU' => 'sku',
+			),
+		);
+		$importer = new WC_Product_CSV_Importer( $csv_file, $args );
+		$data     = $importer->import();
+		WC_Helper_Product::delete_product( $product->get_id() );
+		$this->assertEmpty( $data['updated'], 'Expected 0 updated products, got ' . count( $data['updated'] ) );
+		$this->assertEmpty( $data['imported'], 'Expected 0 imported products, got ' . count( $data['imported'] ) );
+		$this->assertEmpty( $data['failed'], 'Expected 0 failed products, got ' . count( $data['failed'] ) );
+		$this->assertEquals( 1, count( $data['skipped'] ), 'Expected 1 skipped product, got ' . count( $data['skipped'] ) );
+
+		$error = $data['skipped'][0];
+		$this->assertInstanceOf( WP_Error::class, $error );
+		$this->assertEquals( 'A product with this SKU already exists.', $error->get_error_message() );
+	}
 }
diff --git a/plugins/woocommerce/tests/php/includes/importer/import-skipping-existing-products-46505-data.csv b/plugins/woocommerce/tests/php/includes/importer/import-skipping-existing-products-46505-data.csv
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..a76b71a5565
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/woocommerce/tests/php/includes/importer/import-skipping-existing-products-46505-data.csv
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+"ID","SKU"
+9001,"46505-sku"