Acetic acid, formic acid and acetates

4%, with several suspensions

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, saturated acyclic monocarboxylic acids and their derivatives in heading 2915 carried 4% duty on goods from China, including formic acid, acetic acid, ethyl acetate and n-butyl acetate, with no anti-dumping measure. Suspensions to 31 December 2028 gave 0% to vinyl acetate and to acetic anhydride of 94% purity or more without a document condition, to acetic acid of 99% or more with document 9Y11, and to ammonium formate from 5 August 2026. Formic acid had a conditional suspension to 30 June 2027, so check its footnote and documents before relying on it.

Propionic acid and its salts and esters carried 4%, or 0% for listed pharmaceutical substances. Ketone solvents such as acetone are covered in our acetone and ketone solvents guide. Confirm the commodity code for each grade. For chlorinated solvents, see our chlorinated solvents sourcing guide.

Precursor, dangerous goods and REACH rules

Acetic anhydride is a Category 2 drug precursor. Its trade with countries outside the UK is controlled under retained Regulation 111/2005 and the Controlled Drugs (Drug Precursors) (Community External Trade) Regulations 2008, and businesses handling it need Home Office precursor registration or licensing, so check the Home Office guidance before the first order.

Ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, vinyl acetate and concentrated acids are flammable or corrosive dangerous goods that ship in approved drums, IBCs or ISO tanks with UN markings, and each substance imported at one tonne or more a year needs UK REACH registration, an English safety data sheet and GB CLP labels. Food-grade acetic acid for use as the additive E 260 must meet the specification in the GB Register of Food Additive Authorisations, which replaced retained Regulation 231/2012 on 1 April 2025. For food acid ingredients, see sourcing citric acid and food acids. For ascorbic acid, see our ascorbic acid sourcing guide.

Worked duty example

Take a hypothetical order of 80 tonnes of ethyl acetate in ISO tank containers, entered under 2915 31 00 00: £56,000 free on board plus £7,000 of freight and insurance gives a customs value of £63,000. The 4% duty on ethyl acetate comes to £2,520, and import VAT is 20% of £65,520, which is £13,104. If you are VAT-registered you normally reclaim the £13,104, leaving £2,520 as the real cost at the border. Vinyl acetate of the same value under 2915 32 00 00 would enter at 0% under its suspension to 2028. Step by step: UK import duty and VAT.

What goes wrong

Solvents and acids fail on purity, water and packaging. An ethyl acetate lot carries too much water or ethanol for a coating formulation, glacial acetic acid is below 99% and loses the suspension, vinyl acetate polymerises because the inhibitor was low or the tank was too warm, and drums leak or bulge. Acetic anhydride shipments stop at the border because the precursor paperwork was not in place.

Test each lot for assay by gas chromatography, water by Karl Fischer and colour against the specification, check inhibitor content and temperature on vinyl acetate, confirm UN packaging and the dangerous goods note, and put precursor registration or licensing in place before ordering acetic anhydride.

Cambridge China Bridge sources acetic acid, formic acid and acetate solvents for coatings, adhesives, textiles and chemical users, with purity testing and dangerous goods documents agreed before shipment. Talk to us about solvent and acid supply.