Sourcing Titanium Diboride Powder from China

Titanium diboride powder: 4% duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 1 October 2026, heading 2850 covers hydrides, nitrides, azides, silicides and borides, excluding compounds that are also carbides. Titanium diboride powder falls within the borides line, 2850 00 90 00. Its recorded duty for goods from China is 4%, with no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no tariff suspension. The table repeats this line for different purchasing specifications.

The tariff attaches import and export waste controls to this line. Official guidance says waste shipment controls apply only where the material is waste. For a shipment from China described as recovered powder, residue or waste, confirm the applicable requirement with your customs broker before ordering; do not assume it follows the route for newly manufactured powder.

Confirm the composition and presentation with your broker using finding your commodity code. A blend or finished component needs its own classification check. For the wider heading, see the boron nitride powder guide.

Specify purity, oxygen and particle distribution

Specify titanium diboride as the required compound, the intended process, purity, oxygen and carbon limits, free boron and metallic impurities. Agree the particle size distribution, measurement method and sample preparation. A nominal particle size alone leaves the coarse fraction and agglomerates undefined.

Request a batch certificate of analysis and retain an approved sample. Agree sealed packaging, batch identification and acceptance tests. For Great Britain, confirm with HSE or your customs broker whether UK REACH registration or only representative coverage is appropriate for your imports, and which safety data sheet, chemical classification and labelling requirements apply.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 2 tonnes of titanium diboride powder under 2850 00 90 00, invoiced at £50,000 free on board, with £2,000 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £52,000. Duty at 4% is £2,080. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £54,080, so it is £10,816. Import taxes total £12,896; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £2,080 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Identity: check the batch certificate against the order and independently confirm the titanium diboride phase.

Chemistry: test purity, oxygen, carbon and agreed impurities on a representative batch sample.

Particle size: compare the distribution with the approved sample using the agreed method; check for coarse particles and agglomeration.

Packing: check seals, moisture ingress, batch marks and net weight; compare hazard labelling with the safety data sheet. Plan sampling through the quality inspection guide.

What goes wrong

Watch for a certificate that reports total titanium and boron without confirming the required compound, or a particle size result obtained by a different method from the approved sample. Either can conceal a batch that does not match the purchase specification.

Damaged seals, caking and inconsistent impurity results should trigger investigation before the powder enters production. Keep the affected batch separate, retain samples and agree the retest and rejection procedure in the purchase contract.

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.