Chapter
Chapter 26: Ores, slag and ash
Chapter 26 of the Harmonized System has 21 headings and belongs to section V (mineral products).
Duty rates compared
UK Free Third-country duty 47 tariff lines 
EU Free Third-country duty 45 tariff lines 
Türkiye Free – 1.5% Third-country duty 51 tariff lines · average 0% 
USA Free – 5% General (MFN) 48 tariff lines · average 0.1% · 9× specific or compound duty 
Canada Free Third-country duty 53 tariff lines 
Mexico Free Third-country duty 45 tariff lines 
Brazil Free – 3.6% Third-country duty 52 tariff lines · average 1.3% 
Argentina Free – 3.6% Third-country duty 98 tariff lines · average 0.8% 
Peru Free Third-country duty 39 tariff lines 
New Zealand Free Third-country duty 40 tariff lines 
Japan Free Third-country duty 40 tariff lines 
Taiwan Free Third-country duty 52 tariff lines 
GCC 5% Third-country duty 275 tariff lines 
Switzerland Free Third-country duty 37 tariff lines 
Norway Free Third-country duty 37 tariff lines 
North Macedonia Free – 20% Third-country duty 45 tariff lines · average 2.3% 
Nigeria 5% Third-country duty 41 tariff lines Headings 21
- 2601Iron ores and concentrates, including roasted iron pyrites
- 2602Manganese ores and concentrates, including ferruginous manganese ores and concentrates with a manganese content of 20 % or more, calculated on the dry weight
- 2603Copper ores and concentrates
- 2604Nickel ores and concentrates
- 2605Cobalt ores and concentrates
- 2606Aluminium ores and concentrates
- 2607Lead ores and concentrates
- 2608Zinc ores and concentrates
- 2609Tin ores and concentrates
- 2610Chromium ores and concentrates
- 2611Tungsten ores and concentrates
- 2612Uranium or thorium ores and concentrates
- 2613Molybdenum ores and concentrates
- 2614Titanium ores and concentrates
- 2615Niobium, tantalum, vanadium or zirconium ores and concentrates
- 2616Precious-metal ores and concentrates
- 2617Other ores and concentrates
- 2618Granulated slag (slag sand) from the manufacture of iron or steel
- 2619Slag, dross (other than granulated slag), scalings and other waste from the manufacture of iron or steel
- 2620Slag, ash and residues (other than from the manufacture of iron or steel), containing metals, arsenic or their compounds
- 2621Other slag and ash, including seaweed ash (kelp); ash and residues from the incineration of municipal waste
EU: imports by month
World trade in 2024
Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$159mUS$159m+US$846m+US$3bn+> US$12bn
Exports: 172
- Australia: US$101bn
- Brazil: US$37bn
- Chile: US$35bn
- Peru: US$28bn
- South Africa: US$20bn
- Canada: US$12bn
- United States: US$10bn
- Indonesia: US$10bn
- Guinea: US$8bn
- Mexico: US$8bn
- Russia: US$6bn
- Kazakhstan: US$5bn
- Mongolia: US$4bn
- Congo - Kinshasa: US$4bn
- Sweden: US$4bn
- Philippines: US$3bn
- India: US$3bn
- Ukraine: US$3bn
- Türkiye: US$3bn
- Bolivia: US$2bn
- Oman: US$2bn
- Ecuador: US$2bn
- Serbia: US$2bn
- China: US$2bn
- Papua New Guinea: US$2bn
- Bahrain: US$2bn
- Mauritania: US$2bn
- Gabon: US$2bn
- Spain: US$2bn
- Malaysia: US$2bn
- Bulgaria: US$2bn
- Netherlands: US$1bn
- Iran: US$1bn
- Finland: US$1bn
- Laos: US$1bn
- Taiwan: US$1bn
- Sierra Leone: US$1bn
- Germany: US$1bn
- Armenia: US$941m
- Zambia: US$938m
- Saudi Arabia: US$917m
- South Korea: US$846m
- Botswana: US$822m
- Belgium: US$775m
- Ghana: US$677m
- Portugal: US$657m
- Norway: US$574m
- Nigeria: US$571m
- Eritrea: US$549m
- Morocco: US$540m
- Mozambique: US$537m
- Argentina: US$537m
- Vietnam: US$506m
- Tajikistan: US$468m
- Myanmar (Burma): US$460m
- Zimbabwe: US$426m
- France: US$399m
- United Arab Emirates: US$396m
- Italy: US$389m
- Pakistan: US$389m
Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$6mUS$6m+US$322m+US$2bn+> US$5bn
Imports: 190
- China: US$223bn
- Japan: US$25bn
- South Korea: US$19bn
- Germany: US$8bn
- India: US$7bn
- Netherlands: US$5bn
- Spain: US$5bn
- Canada: US$4bn
- Taiwan: US$4bn
- United States: US$4bn
- Malaysia: US$3bn
- Belgium: US$3bn
- Philippines: US$3bn
- Finland: US$3bn
- Bulgaria: US$3bn
- Mozambique: US$3bn
- Indonesia: US$2bn
- Mexico: US$2bn
- Sweden: US$2bn
- United Kingdom: US$2bn
- France: US$2bn
- Vietnam: US$2bn
- Egypt: US$1bn
- Poland: US$1bn
- Bahrain: US$1bn
- Saudi Arabia: US$1bn
- Türkiye: US$1bn
- Oman: US$1bn
- Chile: US$984m
- Russia: US$937m
- Algeria: US$861m
- Italy: US$824m
- United Arab Emirates: US$779m
- Norway: US$753m
- Kazakhstan: US$749m
- Australia: US$728m
- Austria: US$668m
- Thailand: US$643m
- Singapore: US$615m
- Argentina: US$610m
- Brazil: US$585m
- Slovakia: US$566m
- Qatar: US$499m
- Serbia: US$481m
- Switzerland: US$454m
- Libya: US$331m
- Uzbekistan: US$322m
- Czechia: US$289m
- Hong Kong SAR China: US$284m
- Trinidad & Tobago: US$271m
- Peru: US$270m
- Romania: US$261m
- Zambia: US$253m
- Ireland: US$243m
- Slovenia: US$202m
- South Africa: US$109m
- Cambodia: US$108m
- Croatia: US$105m
- Uruguay: US$102m
- Kenya: US$92m
Top exporters
| Rank | Country | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Australia | US$101bn | 28.1% |
| 2 | Brazil | US$37bn | 10.3% |
| 3 |  Chile | US$35bn | 9.8% |
| 4 | Peru | US$28bn | 7.9% |
| 5 |  South Africa | US$20bn | 5.7% |
| 6 | Canada | US$12bn | 3.4% |
| 7 | United States | US$10bn | 2.8% |
| 8 |  Indonesia | US$10bn | 2.8% |
| 9 |  Guinea | US$8bn | 2.3% |
| 10 | Mexico | US$8bn | 2.2% |
Top importers
| Rank | Country | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  China | US$223bn | 62.4% |
| 2 | Japan | US$25bn | 7.1% |
| 3 |  South Korea | US$19bn | 5.3% |
| 4 |  Germany | US$8bn | 2.3% |
| 5 |  India | US$7bn | 1.9% |
| 6 |  Netherlands | US$5bn | 1.3% |
| 7 |  Spain | US$5bn | 1.3% |
| 8 | Canada | US$4bn | 1.1% |
| 9 | Taiwan | US$4bn | 1% |
| 10 | United States | US$4bn | 1% |
The UK Global Tariff divides chapter 26 into 47 tariff lines; the duty is duty-free. 35 of them are duty-free.
In the EU Combined Nomenclature, chapter 26 covers 45 tariff lines and the duty is duty-free.
The Turkish Customs Tariff Schedule divides chapter 26 into 51 tariff lines; the duty is between 0% and 1.5% (average 0%). 50 of them are duty-free.
In 2024, countries exported chapter 26 goods worth US$358bn (+1.9% year on year).
The largest exporter was Australia (US$101bn), followed by Brazil.
The biggest buyer was China, with imports of US$223bn.
Chapter notes
Notes
1. This chapter does not cover:
(a) slag or similar industrial waste prepared as macadam (heading 2517);
(b) natural magnesium carbonate (magnesite), whether or not calcined (heading 2519);
(c) sludges from the storage tanks of petroleum oils, consisting mainly of such oils (heading 2710);
(d) basic slag of Chapter 31;
(e) slag wool, rock wool or similar mineral wools (heading 6806);
(f) waste or scrap of precious metal or of metal clad with precious metal; other waste or scrap containing precious metal or precious-metal compounds, of a kind used principally for the recovery of precious metal (heading 7112 or 8549); or
(g) copper, nickel or cobalt mattes produced by any process of smelting (Section XV).
2. For the purposes of headings 2601 to 2617, the term ‘ores’ means minerals of mineralogical species actually used in the metallurgical industry for the extraction of mercury, of the metals of heading 2844 or of the metals of Section XIV or XV, even if they are intended for non-metallurgical purposes. Headings 2601 to 2617 do not, however, include minerals which have been submitted to processes not normal to the metallurgical industry.
3. Heading 2620 applies only to:
(a) slag, ash and residues of a kind used in industry either for the extraction of metals or as a basis for the manufacture of chemical compounds of metals, excluding ash and residues from the incineration of municipal waste (heading 2621); and
(b) slag, ash and residues containing arsenic, whether or not containing metals, of a kind used either for the extraction of arsenic or metals or for the manufacture of their chemical compounds.
Subheading notes
1. For the purposes of subheading 262021, ‘leaded gasoline sludges and leaded anti-knock compound sludges’ mean sludges obtained from storage tanks of leaded gasoline and leaded anti-knock compounds (for example, tetraethyl lead), and consisting essentially of lead, lead compounds and iron oxide.
2. Slag, ash and residues containing arsenic, mercury, thallium or their mixtures, of a kind used for the extraction of arsenic or those metals or for the manufacture of their chemical compounds, are to be classified in subheading 262060.
Questions and answers
What is the HS code for ores, slag and ash?
Ores, slag and ash make up HS chapter 26, in section V of the Harmonized System.
What is the import duty on ores, slag and ash in the UK?
Under the UK Global Tariff, imports under 26 from countries without a preferential agreement are free of duty. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
What is the import duty on ores, slag and ash in the EU?
Under the EU Combined Nomenclature, imports under 26 from countries without a preferential agreement are free of duty. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
Which country exports the most ores, slag and ash?
Australia, with US$101bn in 2024 (28.1% of world exports).