Sourcing CPE resin from China

Chlorinated polyethylene resin: 6% duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 5 November 2026, heading 3904 covers polymers of vinyl chloride or other halogenated olefins in primary forms. For chlorinated polyethylene resin, the relevant supplied line is 3904 90 00 90, carrying 6% duty on goods from China, with no listed anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension. The table shows buying applications sharing that line, rather than separate tariff subdivisions.

The supplied line attaches import and export waste controls. Waste shipment controls apply only when the material is waste. For waste plastic shipped for recovery into England, official guidance requires notification and consent before shipment for plastics outside its permitted green-list categories. Before importing waste chlorinated polyethylene from China, confirm the waste classification, route and requirements with your customs broker and the relevant environmental authority.

Confirm the commodity code using the composition, additives and supplied form, especially for a formulated compound. The wider resin guide covers other products in this heading; their suspensions and investigation measures should not be transferred to chlorinated polyethylene resin.

Specify chlorine content and processing behaviour

Specify whether the resin will modify rigid plastics or enter a rubber, cable or hose compound. Agree chlorine content, residual crystallinity, viscosity, particle size, bulk density, moisture, ash and the additive package. State the test methods and acceptance limits in the purchase specification, and approve a sample in your actual formulation.

Confirm with HSE whether UK REACH registration applies to the polymer, monomers or additives. Ask for the supplier's composition information and documented UK REACH position. Imported substances and mixtures must be labelled and packaged correctly before sale in Great Britain. Obtain the safety data sheet and check it against the exact grade.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: 25 tonnes of chlorinated polyethylene resin; illustrative order using reference-guide values under 3904 90 00 90, invoiced at £18,000 free on board, with £2,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £20,500. Duty at 6% is £1,230. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £21,730, so it is £4,346. Import taxes total £5,576; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £1,230 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Identity: check the producer, grade and batch references on bags against the order and certificate of analysis.

Analysis: check chlorine content, viscosity, moisture and ash against agreed methods and limits; retain a sealed batch sample.

Processing: check dispersion and impact performance for modification grades, or mixing and cure behaviour for rubber applications.

Packing: check liners, bag seals, contamination, caking and moisture damage, including stock received at your warehouse.

What goes wrong

A matching trade name can hide a different chlorine content, crystallinity or additive package. The resin may disperse poorly or change the compound's processing and performance. Moisture, caking and contamination can also make a laboratory-approved sample unrepresentative of delivered stock.

Agree that substitutions need your approval, compare delivered batches with the retained sample and quarantine suspect bags before mixing them into production. Use quality inspection to define sampling and arrival checks.

Cambridge China Bridge sources these products for UK businesses, checking the factory and the documents before shipment. See factory verification. For repeat volumes, see container programmes.