Sourcing chromium ores from China

Duty and waste controls

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 17 November 2026, heading 2610 covers chromium ores and concentrates. Its sole commodity line, 2610 00 00 00, carries 0% duty for goods from China. The supplied tariff record lists no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension. The table therefore contains only the available commodity line.

The tariff attaches import and export waste controls. For material from China, ask your customs broker to confirm whether the waste control applies and which documents are needed. For notified waste entering England, shipment requires consent from the Environment Agency and the other competent authorities involved. Confirm the separate export-control requirement with your broker if planning onward exports.

Give your broker the material description, assay, processing history and intended use to confirm the commodity code. Keep the description consistent across the order, assay report and shipping documents.

Specify chromium content and grain size

State whether you need lump ore, fine ore or concentrate, and describe the intended foundry, refractory or metallurgical use. Specify chromium oxide content, chromium-to-iron ratio, and limits for silica, alumina, magnesia, sulphur and phosphorus. Agree whether assay results refer to dry material.

Set the grain-size distribution, fines allowance, moisture limit and packing. For foundry sand, agree grain shape and the test method for size distribution. Request the producer's sampling method and lot-specific assay rather than accepting a general product sheet.

Ask whether the material is mined ore, beneficiated concentrate or recovered residue. In England, material is waste if its holder has discarded it. Do not settle its status using the supplier's product name alone.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative shipment of chromium concentrate in bulk bags, 100 tonnes under 2610 00 00 00, invoiced at £40,000 free on board, with £6,000 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £46,000. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £46,000, so it is £9,200. With no duty, the only import tax is the VAT, which a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Assay: independently sample the shipment and compare chromium content, chromium-to-iron ratio and impurities with the agreed specification.

Grading: check the size distribution, oversized particles and fines against the intended process.

Moisture: check wet patches, caking and the basis used to calculate delivered dry material.

Packing: check bag integrity, liners, lot identification and contamination; retain labelled samples for disputes. See quality inspection.

What goes wrong

A shipment can meet its chromium content target yet fail on iron ratio, silica or grain size. Excess fines can change handling and foundry performance; moisture can distort comparisons between quoted and delivered material. Agree the sampling and rejection procedure before ordering.

Mixed lots and generic assay reports make a claim difficult to establish. Match each report to the shipped lot and compare retained samples with arrival samples. Resolve any uncertainty about recovered material and waste controls before loading.

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.