2918.11: Lactic acid, its salts and esters

1. 2918 11 00 00 Lactic acid, its salts and esters Free
2. 2918 11 00 20 L-(+)-lactic acid (cas rn 79-33-4) with a purity by weight of 99% or more, for use in the manufacturing of: - esters and other derivatives (i.e. products obtained from a chemical reaction with the formation of new intramolecular bonds), or - solutions produced under gmp (good manufacturing practice) conditions to be supplied to the pharmaceutical industry Free
3. 2918 11 00 80 Other Free

Additional duties and import rules

Charges on top of the customs duty, and rules the goods must meet at the border.

Preferential rates by country

UK: imports by month

last 12 months£14.3m+3.5% · previous 12 months

Average import price£2.04 per kg

Main suppliers, last 12 months

Country	Value	Share	Change
Netherlands	£4.9m	34.5%	-22.3%
France	£1.6m	11.1%	+29.6%
China	£1.6m	10.9%	-12.2%
Belgium	£1.2m	8.7%	+5.4%
Germany	£1.2m	8.1%	+694.4%
Spain	£1.1m	7.8%	-19.9%
Thailand	£956k	6.7%	+160.6%
Ireland	£851k	6%	+50.2%

Same subheading in other tariffs

EU 6.5% Third-country duty 1 tariff line Türkiye 6.5% Third-country duty 7 tariff lines USA 3.4% – 5.1% General (MFN) 2 tariff lines · average 4.3% Canada Free Third-country duty 3 tariff lines Mexico Free Third-country duty 1 tariff line Brazil 10.8% Third-country duty 1 tariff line Argentina 2% – 10.8% Third-country duty 3 tariff lines · average 7.9% Peru Free – 6% Third-country duty 3 tariff lines · average 2% New Zealand Free Third-country duty 1 tariff line Japan 4.4% Third-country duty 1 tariff line Taiwan 5% Third-country duty 2 tariff lines GCC 5% Third-country duty 11 tariff lines Switzerland Free Third-country duty 1 tariff line Norway Free Third-country duty 2 tariff lines North Macedonia 3% Third-country duty 1 tariff line Nigeria 5% Third-country duty 1 tariff line

World trade in 2024

Top exporters

Rank	Country	Value	Share
1	Netherlands	US$186m	21.8%
2	China	US$154m	18%
3	Thailand	US$135m	15.8%
4	Spain	US$76m	8.9%
5	Belgium	US$67m	7.9%
6	France	US$67m	7.9%
7	United States	US$33m	3.8%
8	Germany	US$32m	3.7%
9	Brazil	US$27m	3.2%
10	India	US$10m	1.1%

Top importers

Rank	Country	Value	Share
1	Netherlands	US$84m	9.9%
2	United States	US$82m	9.6%
3	Spain	US$71m	8.3%
4	Germany	US$54m	6.4%
5	Italy	US$45m	5.3%
6	China	US$43m	5%
7	South Korea	US$41m	4.7%
8	Japan	US$40m	4.6%
9	Mexico	US$33m	3.8%
10	Belgium	US$31m	3.6%

Import duty on this product around the world 165

The most-favoured-nation (MFN) duty each country applies to goods of this HS subheading: the average over its national tariff lines, with the lowest and highest line where they differ. Goods from countries with a trade agreement often pay less.

• 5%median duty
• 58number of duty-free countries (MFN)
• 45%highest: Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman Islands

165

Importing country	MFN duty	lines from – to	data year
Afghanistan	5%		2018 · HS 2012
Albania	0%		2023
Algeria	15%		2023
Angola	0%		2023 · HS 2017
Anguilla	10%		2021 · HS 2017
Antigua & Barbuda	5%		2021 · HS 2007
Argentina	12%		2023 · HS 2017
Armenia	5%		2023
Aruba	6%		2021 · HS 2012
Australia	0%		2023
Azerbaijan	0%		2023 · HS 2017
Bahamas	45%		2022
Bahrain	5%		2023
Bangladesh	5%		2023 · HS 2017
Barbados	5%		2022 · HS 2017
Belarus	5%		2021 · HS 2017
Belize	5%		2023
Benin	5%		2023
Bermuda	25%		2023
Bhutan	10%		2022
Bolivia	5%		2023 · HS 2017
Bosnia & Herzegovina	0%		2022
Botswana	0%		2023
Brazil	12%		2023 · HS 2017
Brunei	0%		2023 · HS 2017
Burkina Faso	5%		2023
Burundi	0%		2023
Cambodia	7%		2023 · HS 2017
Cameroon	10%		2023
Canada	0%		2023
Cape Verde	5%		2023 · HS 2017
Cayman Islands	22%		2021 · HS 2002
Central African Republic	10%		2023
Chad	10%		2023
Chile	6%		2023 · HS 2017
China	6.5%		2023
Colombia	0%		2023 · HS 2017
Comoros	20%		2021 · HS 2017
Congo - Brazzaville	10%		2023
Cook Islands	0%		2022 · HS 2017
Costa Rica	0%		2023
Côte d’Ivoire	5%		2023 · HS 2017
Cuba	10%		2023 · HS 2017
Dominica	0%		2023 · HS 2017
Dominican Republic	0%		2023
Ecuador	0%		2023 · HS 2017
Egypt	2%		2019 · HS 2017
El Salvador	0%		2022
Equatorial Guinea	10%		2023
Eswatini	0%		2023
Ethiopia	10%		2021 · HS 2017
European Union (27 countries)	6.5%		2023
Fiji	5%		2023
French Polynesia	8%		2023
Gabon	10%		2023
Gambia	5%		2023
Georgia	0%		2022 · HS 2017
Ghana	5%		2023
Gibraltar	12%		2023 · HS 2017
Grenada	5%		2023 · HS 2012
Guatemala	0%		2023
Guinea	5%		2023
Guinea-Bissau	5%		2023
Guyana	5%		2023 · HS 2017
Haiti	0%		2020 · HS 2017
Honduras	0%		2023
Hong Kong SAR China	0%		2023
Iceland	0%		2023
India	7.5%		2023
Indonesia	5%		2023
Iran	5%		2020 · HS 2017
Israel	0%		2022 · HS 2017
Jamaica	0%		2023
Japan	2.2%		2023
Jordan	0%		2023
Kazakhstan	5%		2023
Kenya	0%		2023
Kiribati	20%		2023 · HS 2002
Kuwait	5%		2023
Kyrgyzstan	5%		2021 · HS 2017
Laos	5%		2023 · HS 2017
Lebanon	5%		2020 · HS 2017
Lesotho	0%		2023
Liberia	5%		2023
Libya	5%		2021 · HS 2017
Liechtenstein	0%		2021 · HS 2017
Macao SAR China	0%		2023
Madagascar	5%		2023
Malawi	0%		2021 · HS 2017
Malaysia	0%		2023
Maldives	15%		2023
Mali	5%		2023
Mauritania	5%		2023 · HS 2017
Mauritius	0%		2023
Mexico	0%		2023 · HS 2017
Micronesia	4%		2021 · HS 2017
Moldova	5%		2023 · HS 2017
Mongolia	5%		2023
Montserrat	0%		2023 · HS 2017
Morocco	2.5%		2023
Mozambique	2.5%		2023
Myanmar (Burma)	3%		2023 · HS 2017
Namibia	0%		2023
Nauru	10%		2021 · HS 2017
Nepal	10%		2023
New Zealand	0%		2023
Nicaragua	0%		2023
Niger	5%		2023
Nigeria	5%		2023
North Macedonia	3%		2023
Norway	0%		2023
Oman	5%		2023
Pakistan	0%		2023
Palau	3%		2023 · HS 2012
Palestinian Territories	0%		2017 · HS 2017
Panama	0%		2023
Papua New Guinea	0%		2023
Paraguay	12%		2023 · HS 2017
Peru	2%	0% – 6%	2023 · HS 2017
Philippines	1%		2023
Qatar	5%		2023
Russia	5%		2021 · HS 2017
Rwanda	0%		2023
Samoa	8%		2020 · HS 2017
São Tomé & Príncipe	10%		2019 · HS 2017
Saudi Arabia	5%		2023
Senegal	5%		2023
Seychelles	0%		2023
Sierra Leone	5%		2023
Singapore	0%		2023 · HS 2017
Solomon Islands	5%		2023 · HS 2017
Somalia	5%		2023 · HS 2017
South Africa	0%		2023
South Korea	6.5%		2023
Sri Lanka	0%		2023
St Kitts & Nevis	5%		2023
St Lucia	5%		2023 · HS 2012
St Pierre & Miquelon	8%		2021 · HS 2017
St Vincent & the Grenadines	5%		2023
Sudan	3%		2021 · HS 2017
Suriname	5%		2023 · HS 2007
Switzerland	0%		2023
Syria	1%		2020 · HS 2012
Tajikistan	0%		2021 · HS 2012
Tanzania	0%		2023
Thailand	0%		2023
Togo	5%		2023
Tonga	15%		2023 · HS 2017
Trinidad & Tobago	0%		2023 · HS 2012
Türkiye	6.5%		2023
Tuvalu	15%		2017 · HS 2017
Uganda	0%		2023
Ukraine	6.5%		2023 · HS 2017
United Arab Emirates	5%		2023
United Kingdom	0%		2023
United States	4.3%	3.4% – 5.1%	2023
Uruguay	12%		2023 · HS 2017
Uzbekistan	0%		2021 · HS 2017
Vanuatu	5%		2023
Venezuela	12%		2023 · HS 2017
Vietnam	0%		2023
Wallis & Futuna	6%		2021 · HS 2012
Yemen	5%		2017 · HS 2017
Zambia	0%		2023
Zimbabwe	0.1%		2023

Tariff data years 2017–2023; rates may have changed since. · UNCTAD TRAINS, accessed via WITS (World Bank)

Classifications and correspondences

Where this HS subheading sits in the United Nations' statistical classifications, and which codes it had in earlier editions of the Harmonized System.

SITC Rev. 4

51391 Lactic acid, tartaric acid, citric acid & their salts & esters

End use (BEC Rev. 5)

Intermediate goods · BEC 211220

CPC 2.1 product

34140 Carboxylic acids and their anhydrides, halides, peroxides and peroxyacids and their halogenated, sulphonated, nitrated or nitrosated derivatives, except salicylic acid and its salts and esters and their salts

ISIC Rev. 4 activity

2011 Manufacture of basic chemicals

Earlier HS editions

Correspondence tables of the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD)

Binding rulings for similar goods 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.

1. Tariff change 23 September 2026

   Guidance and Procedures for Implementing Tariff Adjustments for Specialty Pharmaceuticals and Associated Pharmaceutical Ingredients and Technical Corrections to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States for Duties Imposed Under Proclamation 11020

   FR Doc. 2026-19498 · 91 FR 60360 · Source: federalregister.gov

2. Import and export controls 20 July 2026

   Notice of Action: Brazil's Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Digital Trade and Electronic Payment Services; Unfair, Preferential Tariffs; Anti-Corruption Enforcement; Intellectual Property Protection; Ethanol Market Access; and Illegal Deforestation

   FR Doc. 2026-14542 · 91 FR 45516 · Source: federalregister.gov

3. Quota 30 June 2026 · Applies from: 12 July 2026

   Council Regulation (EU) 2026/1465 of 25 June 2026 amending Regulation (EU) 2021/2283 opening and providing for the management of autonomous tariff quotas of the Union for certain agricultural and industrial products

   CELEX 32026R1465 · Source: eur-lex.europa.eu

4. Tariff change 4 June 2026

   Notice of Determination and Request for Comments Concerning Action Pursuant to Section 301: Brazil's Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Digital Trade and Electronic Payment Services; Unfair, Preferential Tariffs; Anti-Corruption Enforcement; Intellectual Property Protection; Ethanol Market Access; and Illegal Deforestation

   FR Doc. 2026-11158 · 91 FR 33854 · Source: federalregister.gov

5. Sanctions 19 May 2026 · Applies from: 20 May 2026

   The Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2026

   S.I. 2026/543 · Source: legislation.gov.uk

Rule changes →

Products classified here

• lactic acid

Questions and answers

Typical products

• lactic acid

Everyday names, not part of the legal text.