Subheading · Chapter 29 · Heading 2915
2915.21: Acetic acid and its salts; acetic anhydride: acetic acid
Acetic acid
Official description Acetic acid
2915.21 is the HS subheading for acetic acid, under heading 2915 in chapter 29.
What you pay
Importing into UK
Rates by national line · UK Global Tariff
UK lines →- 2915 21 00 00 Acetic acid 4%
- 2915 21 00 10 Of a purity by weight of 99% or more (cas rn 64-19-7) 4%
- 2915 21 00 90 Other 4%
- 2915 21 00 00 Acetic acid 4%
- 2915 21 00 10 Of a purity by weight of 99% or more (cas rn 64-19-7) 4%
- 2915 21 00 90 Other 4%
Additional duties and import rules
Charges on top of the customs duty, and rules the goods must meet at the border.
Additional duties and charges 3
- Additional dutyAdditional duties 35%
- Applies to goods from
- Belarus, Russia
- Legal act
- 2022 No. 833
- Documents
- 9018
- Duty suspensionAutonomous tariff suspension Free
- Applies to goods from
- all countries
- In force
- until 31 December 2028
- Legal act
- 2020 No. 1435
- Documents
- 9Y11
- Duty suspensionSuspension - goods for certain categories of ships, boats and other vessels and for drilling or production platforms Free
- Applies to goods from
- all countries
- Legal act
- 2020 No. 1431
- Documents
- C990 End use authorisation ships and platforms (Column 8c, Annex A of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446)
Import requirements 1
- Import controlRestriction on entry into free circulation
- Applies to goods from
- Russia, Ukraine
- Legal act
- 2023 No. 440, S.I. 2022/395
- Documents
- 9011
- 9022
- 9038
- 9009
- 9010
- 9017
Preferential rates by country
| Agreement or scheme | Countries | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| standard rate (no agreement) | — | 4% |
| DCTS Comprehensive | Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin and 38 moreAfghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo - Kinshasa, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Laos, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé & Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia | Free |
| European Union (including code "EU") | Free | |
| DCTS Enhanced | Algeria, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Congo - Brazzaville and 13 moreAlgeria, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Congo - Brazzaville, Cook Islands, Kyrgyzstan, Micronesia, Mongolia, Nigeria, Niue, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu | Free |
| CARIFORUM | Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize and 10 moreAntigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago | Free |
| OCTs (Overseas Countries and Territories) | Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands and 7 moreAnguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands, St Helena, Turks & Caicos Islands | Free |
| Central America | Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama | Free |
| SADC EPA | Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia | Free |
| Eastern and Southern Africa States | Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Zimbabwe | Free |
| CPTPP | Brunei, Malaysia | Free |
| UK–Andorra agreement | Andorra | Free |
| UK–Albania agreement | Albania | Free |
| UK–Australia agreement | Australia | Free |
| UK–Canada agreement | Canada | Free |
| UK–Switzerland agreement | Switzerland | Free |
| UK–Côte d’Ivoire agreement | Côte d’Ivoire | Free |
| UK–Chile agreement | Chile | Free |
| UK–Cameroon agreement | Cameroon | Free |
| UK–Colombia agreement | Colombia | Free |
| UK–Ceuta & Melilla agreement | Ceuta & Melilla | Free |
| UK–Ecuador agreement | Ecuador | Free |
| UK–Egypt agreement | Egypt | Free |
| UK–Fiji agreement | Fiji | Free |
| UK–Faroe Islands agreement | Faroe Islands | Free |
| UK–Georgia agreement | Georgia | Free |
| UK–Ghana agreement | Ghana | Free |
| DCTS Standard | Indonesia | Free |
| UK–Israel agreement | Israel | Free |
| UK–India agreement | India | Free |
| UK–Iceland agreement | Iceland | Free |
| UK–Jordan agreement | Jordan | Free |
| UK–Japan agreement | Japan | Free |
| UK–Kenya agreement | Kenya | Free |
| UK–South Korea agreement | South Korea | Free |
| UK–Lebanon agreement | Lebanon | Free |
| UK–Liechtenstein agreement | Liechtenstein | Free |
| UK–Morocco agreement | Morocco | Free |
| UK–Moldova agreement | Moldova | Free |
| UK–North Macedonia agreement | North Macedonia | Free |
| UK–Mexico agreement | Mexico | Free |
| UK–Norway agreement | Norway | Free |
| UK–New Zealand agreement | New Zealand | Free |
| UK–Peru agreement | Peru | Free |
| UK–Papua New Guinea agreement | Papua New Guinea | Free |
| UK–Palestinian Territories agreement | Palestinian Territories | Free |
| UK–Serbia agreement | Serbia | Free |
| UK–Solomon Islands agreement | Solomon Islands | Free |
| UK–Singapore agreement | Singapore | Free |
| UK–San Marino agreement | San Marino | Free |
| UK–Tunisia agreement | Tunisia | Free |
| UK–Türkiye agreement | Türkiye | Free |
| UK–Ukraine agreement | Ukraine | Free |
| UK–Vietnam agreement | Vietnam | Free |
| UK–Samoa agreement | Samoa | Free |
| UK–Kosovo agreement | Kosovo | Free |
| UK–South Africa agreement | South Africa | Free |
UK: imports by month
Main suppliers, last 12 months
| Country | Value | Share | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
 United States | £4.7m | 55% | +28.2% |
 Netherlands | £1.4m | 16.7% | -30.2% |
 China | £934k | 10.9% | -4.5% |
 Sweden | £416k | 4.9% | -17.8% |
 Belgium | £331k | 3.9% | +30.3% |
 Germany | £277k | 3.2% | -11% |
 Canada | £113k | 1.3% | — |
 France | £77k | 0.9% | +58.7% |
Same subheading in other tariffs
TürkiyeWorld trade in 2024
Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$209kUS$209k+US$3m+US$39m+> US$186m
Exports: 97
- China: US$514m
- United States: US$481m
- Malaysia: US$186m
- Belgium: US$137m
- Singapore: US$130m
- Taiwan: US$110m
- United Kingdom: US$88m
- South Korea: US$87m
- Germany: US$45m
- Saudi Arabia: US$39m
- Netherlands: US$36m
- Austria: US$22m
- Türkiye: US$19m
- India: US$15m
- France: US$13m
- Denmark: US$8m
- Iran: US$8m
- Spain: US$7m
- Sweden: US$6m
- Russia: US$5m
- Switzerland: US$4m
- Canada: US$4m
- Poland: US$3m
- Norway: US$3m
- Japan: US$3m
- Thailand: US$3m
- Italy: US$2m
- Mexico: US$2m
- Portugal: US$2m
- Hungary: US$941k
- South Africa: US$871k
- Bosnia & Herzegovina: US$740k
- Bulgaria: US$737k
- Panama: US$715k
- Guatemala: US$426k
- United Arab Emirates: US$409k
- Finland: US$359k
- Hong Kong SAR China: US$342k
- Colombia: US$311k
- Slovakia: US$271k
- Ireland: US$267k
- Argentina: US$242k
- Greece: US$221k
- Romania: US$220k
- Lithuania: US$220k
- Dominican Republic: US$211k
- Trinidad & Tobago: US$210k
- Brazil: US$182k
- Estonia: US$167k
- Australia: US$163k
- Czechia: US$160k
- Croatia: US$133k
- Serbia: US$132k
- Slovenia: US$121k
- North Macedonia: US$118k
- Chile: US$109k
- Israel: US$98k
- New Zealand: US$91k
- Nicaragua: US$70k
- Kenya: US$60k
Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$459kUS$459k+US$3m+US$18m+> US$85m
Imports: 184
- India: US$509m
- Germany: US$219m
- Belgium: US$187m
- Mexico: US$128m
- Japan: US$97m
- Brazil: US$85m
- Singapore: US$66m
- Türkiye: US$61m
- Thailand: US$60m
- Netherlands: US$48m
- South Korea: US$42m
- Indonesia: US$31m
- Poland: US$31m
- Pakistan: US$30m
- Switzerland: US$22m
- Italy: US$21m
- Spain: US$21m
- China: US$19m
- Canada: US$18m
- United States: US$18m
- France: US$17m
- Australia: US$16m
- Egypt: US$14m
- Vietnam: US$14m
- Denmark: US$11m
- United Kingdom: US$11m
- Colombia: US$11m
- Malaysia: US$10m
- Ukraine: US$10m
- Taiwan: US$9m
- Bangladesh: US$8m
- Philippines: US$8m
- United Arab Emirates: US$7m
- South Africa: US$6m
- Iraq: US$5m
- Peru: US$5m
- Argentina: US$5m
- Sweden: US$5m
- Norway: US$5m
- Austria: US$5m
- Romania: US$4m
- Slovenia: US$4m
- Saudi Arabia: US$4m
- Uzbekistan: US$4m
- Finland: US$4m
- Guatemala: US$3m
- Kazakhstan: US$3m
- Costa Rica: US$3m
- Israel: US$3m
- Chile: US$2m
- Angola: US$2m
- Algeria: US$2m
- Dominican Republic: US$2m
- Morocco: US$2m
- Greece: US$2m
- Jordan: US$2m
- Sri Lanka: US$2m
- Ireland: US$2m
- Honduras: US$2m
- Serbia: US$2m
Top exporters
| Rank | Country | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | US$514m | 25.8% |
| 2 | United States | US$481m | 24.1% |
| 3 |  Malaysia | US$186m | 9.3% |
| 4 | Belgium | US$137m | 6.9% |
| 5 |  Singapore | US$130m | 6.5% |
| 6 |  Taiwan | US$110m | 5.5% |
| 7 | United Kingdom | US$88m | 4.4% |
| 8 |  South Korea | US$87m | 4.4% |
| 9 | Germany | US$45m | 2.3% |
| 10 |  Saudi Arabia | US$39m | 2% |
Recent rule changes mentioning this code
Acts whose text cites this code or its heading. Check the act itself: a code can be cited for reasons other than a change of its duty.
-
Quota · Applies from: CELEX 32026R1465 · Source: eur-lex.europa.eu
- Anti-dumping · Applies from:
CELEX 32026R0319 · Source: eur-lex.europa.eu
The UK Global Tariff divides subheading 2915.21 into 2 tariff lines; the duty is 4%.
Subheading 2915.21 is a single line in the EU Combined Nomenclature, where the duty is 5.5%.
174 countries pay no duty in the UK thanks to trade agreements and preference schemes such as DCTS Comprehensive and European Union, against a standard rate of 4%.
In the UK, additional duty of 35% applies on top of the customs duty to goods from Belarus and Russia.
Imports of acetic acid into the UK came to £8.5m between September 2025 and August 2026 (down 1% on the year before); United States supplied 55%, followed by Netherlands.
In 2024, countries exported acetic acid worth US$2bn (−3.4% year on year).
The largest exporter was China (US$514m), followed by the United States.
Products classified here
Questions and answers
What is the HS code for acetic acid and its salts; acetic anhydride: acetic acid?
Acetic acid and its salts; acetic anhydride: acetic acid fall under HS subheading 2915.21, part of heading 2915, in section VI of the Harmonized System.
What is the import duty on acetic acid and its salts in the UK?
Under the UK Global Tariff, imports under 2915.21 from countries without a preferential agreement are charged at 4%. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
What is the import duty on acetic acid and its salts in the EU?
Under the EU Combined Nomenclature, imports under 2915.21 from countries without a preferential agreement are charged at 5.5%. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
Which country exports the most acetic acid and its salts?
China, with US$514m in 2024 (25.8% of world exports).
Which countries can export acetic acid to the UK duty-free?
174 countries pay no duty under a trade agreement or preference scheme, among them partners under DCTS Comprehensive, European Union, DCTS Enhanced. The goods must meet the agreement’s rules of origin and the importer needs proof of origin; otherwise the standard rate of 4% applies. Pick a country above to see its rate.
Is there anti-dumping duty on acetic acid?
The UK charges additional duty of 35% on goods from Belarus and Russia. Lower rates apply to the named exporters listed in the measure.
Where does the UK import acetic acid from?
In the 12 months to August 2026, the largest suppliers were United States (55%), Netherlands (17%) and China (11%), out of total imports of £8.5m.