Sourcing synthetic rubber from China

0% on every line

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, synthetic rubber and factice derived from oils in primary forms or in plates, sheets or strip, heading 4002, carried 0% on goods from China on all eighteen lines, including latex, emulsion and solution styrene-butadiene rubber, styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymers, butadiene rubber, butyl and halobutyl rubber, chloroprene rubber, acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber, isoprene rubber and EPDM. No line had an anti-dumping measure.

Unvulcanised rubber already mixed with carbon black, silica or other ingredients is compounded rubber of heading 4005, and vulcanised sheet is in our rubber sheet and matting guide; confirm the commodity code from the supplier's technical data sheet.

Extender oils and REACH

Entry 50 of [Annex XVII of UK REACH](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2006/1907/annex/XVII) limits polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in extender oils used to make tyres, so oil-extended SBR for tyre compounds should come with evidence that the oil meets those limits. Rubber for articles in prolonged skin contact or for toys faces PAH limits in the finished article too.

Polymers are exempt from UK REACH registration, but monomers and additives above one tonne a year may need registering unless already covered up the chain; see UK REACH for importers.

Specifying rubber

Synthetic rubber is bought on polymer type and grade number, Mooney viscosity, and grade-specific properties such as bound styrene in SBR, ethylene and diene content in EPDM, acrylonitrile content in NBR, oil content for oil-extended grades, and the antioxidant, including whether it is non-staining. Latex is bought on total solids, pH and particle size.

Ask for the typical cure behaviour in a standard test recipe, so your compounder can compare it with the grade used today.

Worked duty example

An invented example rather than a quote: 20 tonnes of EPDM rubber in bales, commodity code 4002 70 00 00, bought for £40,000 free on board, with £2,000 of freight and insurance, so £42,000 is the value customs works from. No duty is due on synthetic rubber; import VAT at 20% of £42,000 is £8,400. If you are VAT-registered, that VAT is normally reclaimable. See calculating UK import duty and VAT for the method.

Inspection checklist

Viscosity and composition: measure Mooney viscosity to ISO 289-1 on samples from several bales, volatile matter to ISO 248-1 and ash to ISO 247-1, and for SBR bound styrene to ISO 2453, against the certificate of analysis and the approved grade.

Cure behaviour: mix the standard test recipe for the rubber type, for example ISO 2322 for SBR or ISO 4097 for EPDM, and compare cure curves and vulcanisate tensile properties with the approved lot.

Bales and latex: check bales for film wrapping, cold flow, contamination and weight, crates or pallets for damage, and latex drums or IBCs for total solids to ISO 124, pH to ISO 976 and signs of coagulation or freezing.

What goes wrong

Synthetic rubber fails on grade consistency and storage. Mooney viscosity drifts between lots so mixing and extrusion change, a staining antioxidant discolours light-coloured goods, bales flow together in hot containers and stick to crates, and latex coagulates if it freezes or is kept too long.

Approve a lot in your compounder's own recipe, test each lot's Mooney viscosity and cure curve, and agree storage, packing and a maximum age at loading. See our quality inspection guide.

Cambridge China Bridge sources SBR, EPDM, NBR and other synthetic rubbers for compounders and moulders, usually by the full container. See container programmes.