Sourcing acetonitrile and nitriles from China

6%, with suspensions

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, nitrile-function compounds of heading 2926 carried 6% on goods from China on most lines, including acrylonitrile (2926 10 00 00), dicyandiamide (2926 20 00 00) and isophthalonitrile; a few lines carried 0% and one line 0% for pharmaceutical use. No line had an anti-dumping measure.

Autonomous suspensions change several rates: the whole acetonitrile line (2926 90 70 22) is 0% until 31 December 2028, acrylonitrile of 99% purity or more is 0% until 31 December 2026 with document code 9Y12, and acrylonitrile for making fibres, acrylamide, acrylic polymers and nitrile rubber has an authorised-use suspension to 2028. Many named nitriles, including methacrylonitrile and butyronitrile, have their own suspended lines to 2028.

Nitrile pesticide actives such as deltamethrin and lambda-cyhalothrin also sit in this heading but need pesticide approval; see our pesticides and disinfectants guide. Confirm the commodity code with the CAS number.

Hazards and REACH

Acetonitrile ships as UN 1648 and acrylonitrile, stabilised, as UN 1093, both flammable class 3 liquids, acrylonitrile with a toxic subsidiary risk; each needs approved packaging, labels and a dangerous goods declaration. Acrylonitrile is a classified carcinogen, so entries 28 to 30 of Annex XVII of UK REACH bar its supply to the general public above set concentrations.

Importing one tonne or more a year of a nitrile needs a UK REACH registration or an only representative, and the English safety data sheet must travel with the goods.

Grades

Acetonitrile is sold in industrial, HPLC and gradient grades, where UV absorbance, water and residue on evaporation decide whether it suits analytical work; dicyandiamide is sold for fertiliser, flame retardant, epoxy curing and pharmaceutical synthesis on purity, particle size and ash.

Worked duty example

For a made-up shipment of 20 tonnes of dicyandiamide in 25 kg bags under 2926 20 00 00, add the £2,000 of freight and insurance to the £36,000 free-on-board price and customs sees £38,000. At 6%, duty on these dicyandiamide is £2,280; import VAT of £8,056 is 20% of the value with duty added. Together that is £10,336, but a VAT-registered importer usually gets the VAT back. The duty and VAT guide walks through the calculation.

Inspection checklist

Acetonitrile: test purity by gas chromatography, water by the Karl Fischer method, for example as in ISO 760, and for HPLC grades UV absorbance and residue on evaporation, against the certificate for the lot.

Dicyandiamide: test assay, moisture, ash and particle size by sieving against the specification on samples from several bags, and check caking in the bag.

Packing and labels: check drums or ISO tanks are UN-marked for the class, sealed and labelled with UN 1648 or UN 1093, flammable and toxic labels, lot and date, and that the safety data sheet is in English.

What goes wrong

Nitriles fail on grade, stabiliser and paperwork. Acetonitrile sold as HPLC grade has UV absorbance or water above the limit, acrylonitrile arrives with too little stabiliser for the transit time, dicyandiamide cakes or carries more ash than stated, and shipments are held for missing dangerous goods documents.

Test the first lot in a UK laboratory, fix the grade and stabiliser level in the contract, and check documents before loading. See our quality inspection guide.

Cambridge China Bridge sources acetonitrile, dicyandiamide and other nitriles for laboratories, resin makers and chemical distributors, and can add a second producer alongside your current one. See second supplier.