Chapter
Chapter 32: Tanning or dyeing extracts; tannins and their derivatives; dyes, pigments and other colouring matter; paints and varnishes; putty and other mastics; inks
15 headings make up chapter 32, part of section VI, products of the chemical or allied industries.
Duty rates compared
UK Free – 6% Third-country duty 163 tariff lines · average 4.4% 
EU Free – 6.5% Third-country duty 59 tariff lines · average 5.5% 
Türkiye Free – 6.5% Third-country duty 102 tariff lines · average 5.8% 
USA Free – 6.5% General (MFN) 107 tariff lines · average 4.2% · 1× specific or compound duty 
Canada Free – 6.5% General (MFN) 75 tariff lines · average 2.2% 
Mexico Free – 10% General (MFN) 115 tariff lines · average 2.3% 
Brazil Free – 12.6% General (MFN) 102 tariff lines · average 9.2% 
Argentina Free – 12.6% General (MFN) 347 tariff lines · average 11.1% 
Peru Free – 6% General (MFN) 71 tariff lines · average 1.8% 
New Zealand Free – 5% General (MFN) 129 tariff lines · average 2.2% 
Japan Free – 4.4% General (MFN) 57 tariff lines · average 3.1% 
Taiwan Free – 6.5% General (MFN) 142 tariff lines · average 4.4% 
GCC 5% General (MFN) 125 tariff lines 
Switzerland Free General (MFN) 45 tariff lines 
Norway Free General (MFN) 53 tariff lines 
North Macedonia Free – 6.5% General (MFN) 60 tariff lines · average 2.9% 
Nigeria 5% – 20% General (MFN) 59 tariff lines · average 10.5% Headings 15
- 3201Tanning extracts of vegetable origin; tannins and their salts, ethers, esters and other derivatives
- 3202Synthetic organic tanning substances; inorganic tanning substances; tanning preparations, whether or not containing natural tanning substances; enzymatic preparations for pre-tanning
- 3203Colouring matter of vegetable or animal origin (including dyeing extracts but excluding animal black), whether or not chemically defined; preparations as specified in note 3 to this chapter based on colouring matter of vegetable or animal origin
- 3204Synthetic organic colouring matter, whether or not chemically defined; preparations as specified in note 3 to this chapter based on synthetic organic colouring matter; synthetic organic products of a kind used as fluorescent brightening agents or as luminophores, whether or not chemically defined
- 3205Colour lakes; preparations as specified in note 3 to this chapter based on colour lakes
- 3206Other colouring matter; preparations as specified in note 3 to this chapter, other than those of heading 3203, 3204 or 3205; inorganic products of a kind used as luminophores, whether or not chemically defined
- 3207Prepared pigments, prepared opacifiers and prepared colours, vitrifiable enamels and glazes, engobes (slips), liquid lustres and similar preparations, of a kind used in the ceramic, enamelling or glass industry; glass frit and other glass, in the form of powder, granules or flakes
- 3208Paints and varnishes (including enamels and lacquers) based on synthetic polymers or chemically modified natural polymers, dispersed or dissolved in a non-aqueous medium; solutions as defined in note 4 to this chapter
- 3209Paints and varnishes (including enamels and lacquers) based on synthetic polymers or chemically modified natural polymers, dispersed or dissolved in an aqueous medium
- 3210Other paints and varnishes (including enamels, lacquers and distempers); prepared water pigments of a kind used for finishing leather
- 3211Prepared driers
- 3212Pigments (including metallic powders and flakes) dispersed in non-aqueous media, in liquid or paste form, of a kind used in the manufacture of paints (including enamels); stamping foils; dyes and other colouring matter put up in forms or packings for retail sale
- 3213Artists', students' or signboard painters' colours, modifying tints, amusement colours and the like, in tablets, tubes, jars, bottles, pans or in similar forms or packings
- 3214Glaziers' putty, grafting putty, resin cements, caulking compounds and other mastics; painters' fillings; non-refractory surfacing preparations for façades, indoor walls, floors, ceilings or the like
- 3215Printing ink, writing or drawing ink and other inks, whether or not concentrated or solid
EU: imports by month
World trade in 2024
Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$3mUS$3m+US$112m+US$890m+> US$4bn
Exports: 213
- China: US$12bn
- Germany: US$12bn
- United States: US$8bn
- Japan: US$5bn
- India: US$5bn
- Netherlands: US$4bn
- Italy: US$4bn
- France: US$3bn
- Spain: US$3bn
- United Kingdom: US$3bn
- Belgium: US$3bn
- South Korea: US$2bn
- Switzerland: US$2bn
- Poland: US$2bn
- Türkiye: US$2bn
- Mexico: US$1bn
- Malaysia: US$1bn
- Canada: US$1bn
- Taiwan: US$1bn
- Singapore: US$1bn
- Sweden: US$932m
- Austria: US$890m
- Indonesia: US$804m
- Australia: US$723m
- Thailand: US$699m
- Czechia: US$634m
- Denmark: US$556m
- Slovenia: US$516m
- Brazil: US$481m
- Saudi Arabia: US$412m
- South Africa: US$397m
- United Arab Emirates: US$386m
- Greece: US$382m
- Egypt: US$321m
- Portugal: US$317m
- Vietnam: US$289m
- Philippines: US$273m
- Peru: US$268m
- Israel: US$267m
- Norway: US$246m
- Luxembourg: US$240m
- Russia: US$232m
- Finland: US$231m
- Ireland: US$219m
- Estonia: US$217m
- Hong Kong SAR China: US$209m
- Hungary: US$198m
- Serbia: US$187m
- Romania: US$167m
- Colombia: US$152m
- Costa Rica: US$147m
- Argentina: US$127m
- Guatemala: US$112m
- Latvia: US$106m
- Slovakia: US$103m
- Lithuania: US$101m
- El Salvador: US$95m
- Kazakhstan: US$95m
- Croatia: US$80m
- New Zealand: US$75m
Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$53mUS$53m+US$321m+US$1bn+> US$3bn
Imports: 225
- United States: US$5bn
- Germany: US$5bn
- China: US$5bn
- France: US$4bn
- Netherlands: US$3bn
- Italy: US$3bn
- India: US$3bn
- Mexico: US$3bn
- Belgium: US$3bn
- Canada: US$3bn
- Türkiye: US$2bn
- Poland: US$2bn
- South Korea: US$2bn
- United Kingdom: US$2bn
- Spain: US$2bn
- United Arab Emirates: US$2bn
- Vietnam: US$2bn
- Brazil: US$2bn
- Indonesia: US$1bn
- Thailand: US$1bn
- Czechia: US$1bn
- Japan: US$1bn
- Taiwan: US$1bn
- Austria: US$1bn
- Singapore: US$1bn
- Switzerland: US$996m
- Russia: US$980m
- Malaysia: US$917m
- Saudi Arabia: US$901m
- Australia: US$831m
- Portugal: US$829m
- Bangladesh: US$805m
- Sweden: US$787m
- Romania: US$709m
- Hungary: US$616m
- Denmark: US$614m
- Egypt: US$599m
- Philippines: US$594m
- Hong Kong SAR China: US$592m
- South Africa: US$534m
- Pakistan: US$530m
- Slovakia: US$518m
- Israel: US$494m
- Greece: US$489m
- Argentina: US$475m
- Colombia: US$473m
- Norway: US$433m
- Morocco: US$406m
- Ireland: US$395m
- Kazakhstan: US$391m
- Algeria: US$385m
- Ukraine: US$382m
- Chile: US$367m
- Peru: US$363m
- Finland: US$332m
- Croatia: US$323m
- Belarus: US$321m
- Lithuania: US$303m
- Uzbekistan: US$297m
- Guatemala: US$295m
Top exporters
| Rank | Country | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  China | US$12bn | 13.4% |
| 2 |  Germany | US$12bn | 13.3% |
| 3 | United States | US$8bn | 9.2% |
| 4 | Japan | US$5bn | 5.6% |
| 5 |  India | US$5bn | 5.3% |
| 6 |  Netherlands | US$4bn | 4.4% |
| 7 |  Italy | US$4bn | 4% |
| 8 |  France | US$3bn | 3.9% |
| 9 |  Spain | US$3bn | 3.7% |
| 10 | United Kingdom | US$3bn | 3.5% |
Top importers
| Rank | Country | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | US$5bn | 6.1% |
| 2 | Germany | US$5bn | 6.1% |
| 3 | China | US$5bn | 5.4% |
| 4 | France | US$4bn | 4% |
| 5 | Netherlands | US$3bn | 3.4% |
| 6 | Italy | US$3bn | 3.4% |
| 7 | India | US$3bn | 3.1% |
| 8 | Mexico | US$3bn | 3.1% |
| 9 |  Belgium | US$3bn | 3.1% |
| 10 | Canada | US$3bn | 2.9% |
In the UK Global Tariff, chapter 32 covers 163 tariff lines and the duty is between 0% and 6%. 42 of them are duty-free.
The EU Combined Nomenclature divides chapter 32 into 59 tariff lines; the duty is between 0% and 6.5% (average 5.5%). 6 of them are duty-free.
In the Turkish Customs Tariff Schedule, chapter 32 covers 102 tariff lines and the duty is between 0% and 6.5%. 6 of them are duty-free.
World trade in chapter 32 goods reached US$89bn in 2024, up 2.8% on 2023.
China was the largest exporter with 13.4% of the total, ahead of Germany.
The United States imported the most (US$5bn).
Chapter notes
Notes
1. This chapter does not cover:
(a) separate chemically defined elements or compounds (except those of heading 3203 or 3204, inorganic products of a kind used as luminophores (heading 3206), glass obtained from fused quartz or other fused silica in the forms provided for in heading 3207, and also dyes and other colouring matter put up in forms or packings for retail sale of heading 3212);
(b) tannates or other tannin derivatives of products of headings 2936 to 2939, 2941 or 3501 to 3504; or
(c) mastics of asphalt or other bituminous mastics (heading 2715).
2. Heading 3204 includes mixtures of stabilised diazonium salts and couplers for the production of azo dyes.
3. Headings 3203, 3204, 3205 and 3206 apply also to preparations based on colouring matter (including, in the case of heading 3206, colouring pigments of heading 2530 or Chapter 28, metal flakes and metal powders), of a kind used for colouring any material or used as ingredients in the manufacture of colouring preparations. The headings do not apply, however, to pigments dispersed in non-aqueous media, in liquid or paste form, of a kind used in the manufacture of paints, including enamels (heading 3212), or to other preparations of headings 3207, 3208, 3209, 3210, 3212, 3213 or 3215.
4. Heading 3208 includes solutions (other than collodions) consisting of any of the products specified in headings 3901 to 3913 in volatile organic solvents when the weight of the solvent exceeds 50 % of the weight of the solution.
5. The expression ‘colouring matter’ in this chapter does not include products of a kind used as extenders in oil paints, whether or not they are also suitable for colouring distempers.
6. The expression ‘stamping foils’ in heading 3212 applies only to thin sheets of a kind used for printing, for example, book covers or hat bands, and consisting of:
(a) metallic powder (including powder of precious metal) or pigment, agglomerated with glue, gelatin or other binder; or
(b) metal (including precious metal) or pigment, deposited on a supporting sheet of any material.
Questions and answers
What is the HS code for tanning or dyeing extracts; tannins and their derivatives; dyes, pigments and other colouring matter; paints and varnishes; putty and other mastics; inks?
Tanning or dyeing extracts; tannins and their derivatives; dyes, pigments and other colouring matter; paints and varnishes; putty and other mastics; inks make up HS chapter 32, in section VI of the Harmonized System.
What is the import duty on tanning or dyeing extracts in the UK?
Under the UK Global Tariff, imports under 32 from countries without a preferential agreement are charged at 0% to 6%, depending on the line. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
What is the import duty on tanning or dyeing extracts in the EU?
Under the EU Combined Nomenclature, imports under 32 from countries without a preferential agreement are charged at 0% to 6.5%, depending on the line. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
Which country exports the most tanning or dyeing extracts?
China, with US$12bn in 2024 (13.4% of world exports).