Sourcing rubber accelerator blends from China

Duty on prepared rubber accelerators

Heading 3812 includes prepared rubber accelerators alongside plasticisers and stabilisers. This guide covers accelerator preparations only. The supplied tariff data contains only the accelerator lines shown here. For the other product families, see rubber and plastic additives.

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 6 November 2026, all relevant prepared rubber accelerator lines carry 0% duty for goods from China. The supplied data lists no anti-dumping or countervailing duty, suspensions or attached import controls for these lines. Chemical compliance remains a separate check.

Confirm the commodity code against the complete composition and physical form, including oil or polymer carrier. A single chemically defined accelerator can fall in chapter 29 instead. Do not select a specifically described tariff line merely because the supplier uses a similar grade name.

Specify the accelerator chemistry and carrier

State the accelerator ingredients, their agreed proportions, active content and carrier chemistry. Specify oil-treated powder, granules or pre-dispersed masterbatch, together with particle form, moisture, ash and storage conditions. Name the current approved grade and the rubber compound in which the replacement will be evaluated.

UK REACH registration applies to substances in mixtures. Assess registration needs ingredient by ingredient before ordering. For sale in Great Britain, ensure the blend is correctly labelled and packaged before placing it on the market.

Approve a sample through a cure-curve comparison in your own compound. Compare scorch behaviour, cure development and dispersion against the current grade, using the same mixing and test conditions.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 16 tonnes of prepared rubber accelerator blend under 3812 10 00 90, invoiced at £32,000 free on board, with £1,600 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £33,600. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £33,600, so it is £6,720. 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

Composition: compare batch analysis with the agreed accelerator proportions, active content and carrier; investigate any changed ingredient.

Physical condition: check for caking, excessive dust, broken granules, contamination and damaged seals.

Cure performance: compare melting range, heat loss, ash and sieve residue with the analysis certificate, then run the agreed compound trial.

Documents and packing: match bag labels, lot references and analysis certificates; obtain an English safety data sheet. Arrange quality inspection against the approved specification.

What goes wrong

A familiar grade name can hide a changed carrier or active content. The blend may weigh correctly but deliver a different accelerator dose into the mixer. Poor dispersion, caking or altered chemistry can upset the cure behaviour established with the approved sample.

A supplier's certificate alone does not show that the delivered blend works in your compound. Keep a retained sample, compare incoming lots and hold material that fails the agreed checks while the supplier investigates.

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.