Subheading · Chapter 34 · Heading 3402

3402.90: Organic surface-active agents: other

Other surfactant and washing preparations

Official description Other

3402.90 is the HS subheading for other surfactant and washing preparations, under heading 3402 in chapter 34.

Importing into Country of origin

What you pay

Importing into UK from Barbados

Customs duty Free preferential rate · CARIFORUM · across 5 national lines

Additional duties and charges 3 additional measures

VAT 20.00 % import VAT

Duty calculatorCalculate duty and taxes →

Rates by national line · UK Global Tariff

UK lines →

3402 90 00 00 Other
3402 90 10 00 Surface-active preparations 4%
3402 90 10 10 Surface-active mixture of methyltri-c8-c10-alkylammonium chlorides Free4%
3402 90 10 15 Silicone surfactant consisting of a mixture of: -60% or more but not more than 85% by weight of polyalkyleneoxidedimethylsiloxane copolymer (cas rn 68937-55-3), -15% or more but not more than 40% by weight of poly(oxy-1.2-ethanediyl),α-hydro-ω-hydroxy-ethane-1.2-diol, ethoxylated (cas rn 25322-68-3), -0.8% or more but not more than 1.5% by weight octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (cas rn 556-67-2), -0.6% or more but not more than 1.0% by weight decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (cas rn 541-02-6), -0.2% or more but not more than 0.5% by weight dodecamethylcyclohexasiloxane(cas rn 540-97-6) Free4%
3402 90 10 80 Mixture, containing by weight: -80% or more but not more than 90% of docusate sodium (inn) (cas rn 577-11-7), and -10% or more but not more than 20% of sodium benzoate (cas rn 532-32-1) Free4%
3402 90 10 90 Other Free4%
3402 90 90 00 Washing preparations and cleaning preparations Free4%

Additional duties and import rulesBarbados

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

Additional duties and charges 4

Duty suspensionAutonomous tariff suspension Free
Applies to goods from
all countries

In force
until 31 December 2028

Legal act
2020 No. 1435
Documents
- 9Y12
Tariff lines
on 2 of 5 lines
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)
Duty suspensionAirworthiness tariff suspension Free
Applies to goods from
all countries

Legal act
S.I. 2018/1249
Documents
- C119 Authorised Release Certificate — EASA Form 1 (Appendix I to Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 748/2012), or equivalent certificate
Duty suspensionAutonomous tariff suspension Free
Applies to goods from
all countries

In force
until 31 December 2026

Legal act
2020 No. 1435
Documents
- 9Y12
Tariff lines
on 2 of 5 lines

UK: imports by month

last 12 months£170.7m+0.6% · previous 12 months

Average import price£2.13 per kg

Data up to August 2026 (provisional) · Monthly data: Eurostat Comext (CC BY 4.0), HMRC (OGL v3.0)

Main suppliers, last 12 months

Country	Value	Share	Change
Germany	£34.6m	20.3%	-5.7%
United States	£18.2m	10.6%	+5%
France	£17.7m	10.3%	+12.8%
Italy	£17.3m	10.1%	-7.6%
Belgium	£15.4m	9%	+21.4%
Poland	£11.3m	6.6%	+25.3%
Ireland	£11m	6.5%	+5.3%
Spain	£8.8m	5.1%	+24.6%

Same subheading in other tariffs

EU 4% Third-country duty 2 tariff lines

Türkiye 4% Third-country duty 4 tariff lines

USA 3.7% – 4% General (MFN) 3 tariff lines · average 3.8%

World trade in 2024

3402.90 · US$8bn

Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$647kUS$647k+US$20m+US$112m+> US$429m

Exports: 191

Germany: US$1bn
United States: US$915m
China: US$819m
Belgium: US$530m
United Kingdom: US$449m
Italy: US$429m
France: US$384m
Netherlands: US$316m
Spain: US$313m
Japan: US$219m
South Africa: US$183m
South Korea: US$172m
Thailand: US$168m
Poland: US$143m
Mexico: US$132m
Singapore: US$127m
Denmark: US$122m
Taiwan: US$119m
Sweden: US$112m
Malaysia: US$108m
Türkiye: US$104m
India: US$101m
Austria: US$100m
Brazil: US$82m
Canada: US$78m
Norway: US$57m
Switzerland: US$56m
Czechia: US$56m
Guatemala: US$47m
Slovenia: US$42m
Indonesia: US$40m
Vietnam: US$33m
Australia: US$32m
Greece: US$31m
Russia: US$30m
Colombia: US$29m
Ireland: US$28m
United Arab Emirates: US$27m
Portugal: US$25m
Israel: US$24m
Costa Rica: US$23m
Hungary: US$22m
Egypt: US$22m
Slovakia: US$22m
Lithuania: US$21m
Saudi Arabia: US$20m
Bahrain: US$19m
Kazakhstan: US$17m
Bulgaria: US$17m
Latvia: US$16m
Kenya: US$15m
El Salvador: US$14m
Hong Kong SAR China: US$13m
Romania: US$13m
Argentina: US$13m
Finland: US$12m
Philippines: US$12m
Estonia: US$10m
Peru: US$10m
Turkmenistan: US$10m

Top exporters

Rank	Country	Value	Share
1	Germany	US$1bn	14.7%
2	United States	US$915m	10.8%
3	China	US$819m	9.7%
4	Belgium	US$530m	6.3%
5	United Kingdom	US$449m	5.3%
6	Italy	US$429m	5.1%
7	France	US$384m	4.5%
8	Netherlands	US$316m	3.7%
9	Spain	US$313m	3.7%
10	Japan	US$219m	2.6%

Top importers

Rank	Country	Value	Share
1	China	US$462m	5.5%
2	Germany	US$417m	4.9%
3	United States	US$368m	4.4%
4	France	US$326m	3.9%
5	Netherlands	US$282m	3.3%
6	Belgium	US$243m	2.9%
7	Canada	US$235m	2.8%
8	Italy	US$216m	2.6%
9	United Kingdom	US$205m	2.4%
10	Poland	US$205m	2.4%

Binding rulings for similar goods 15

Decisions of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CROSS) and HMRC (Advance Tariff Rulings) on goods classified here. A ruling binds only its holder, but shows how the authorities classify similar goods. The descriptions are the authorities’ own, in English.

N342895 U.S. CBP 10 October 2024 · 3402.90.50.50

The tariff classification of Insta-Bubbles from China
N332768 U.S. CBP 27 August 2024 · 3402.90.50.50

The tariff classification of MAPTAC 50% solution in water, CAS # 51410-72-1, from China
N313708 U.S. CBP 1 September 2020 · 3402.90.50.30

The tariff classification of “Rodico” from Malaysia
N312633 U.S. CBP 9 July 2020 · 3402.90.50.30

The tariff classification of “Albion Cleaning Agent RR40 Concentrate Powder” from an undisclosed country
N306723 U.S. CBP 30 October 2019 · 3402.90.50.10

The tariff classification of “RugSafe Cotton Fresh Rug Wash,” “RugSafe Fleece Wash,” “RugSafe Merino and Wool Wash,” “RugSafe Numnah, Boot and Bandage Wash,” and “RugSafe Sheepskin Conditioner” from the United Kingdom
N300281 U.S. CBP 14 September 2018 · 3402.90.50.50

The tariff classification of “SharoSENSE Plus 181, SharoSENSE Plus 182, SharoSENSE Plus 183, and SharoSENSE Plus 184” from Israel
600011464 HMRC 13 November 2024 – 12 November 2027 · 3402 90 10 90

Product is a liquid concentrate, separation agent for pressing surfaces/plates in machinery. Also used to eliminate the formation of deposits of dispersion and UF adhesives on the pressing surfaces of commonly used presses. Comes as a yellow viscous liquid. Product is put up in 1 litre bottles of…
600011459 HMRC 30 October 2024 – 29 October 2027 · 3402 90 90 00

Product is a reddish coloured ethanol based cleaning agent/fluid used in edge banding/gluing machines before buffing wheels/surface scraper. It removes the previously applied release agent and loosens/removes adhesive residues. Product is put up in 10 & 30 litre containers. Usage:- To be sprayed…
600011314 HMRC 28 October 2024 – 27 October 2027 · 3402 90 90 00

Brake, Clutch and Electrical Cleaner is a cleaning product used in the automotive trade to clean brake discs and and electrical components on vehicles. The product is packaged in 400 millilitres, 5 litres, 25 litres and 205 litres.

15 rulings in total for this code

The UK Global Tariff divides subheading 3402.90 into 5 tariff lines; the duty is 4%.

In the EU Combined Nomenclature, subheading 3402.90 covers 2 tariff lines and the duty is 4%.

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 other surfactant and washing preparations into the UK came to £170.7m between September 2025 and August 2026 (up 1% on the year before); Germany supplied 20%, followed by United States.

In 2024, countries exported other surfactant and washing preparations worth US$8bn (−2.7% year on year).

The largest exporter was Germany (US$1bn), followed by the United States.

Questions and answers

What is the HS code for organic surface-active agents: other?

Organic surface-active agents: other fall under HS subheading 3402.90, part of heading 3402, in section VI of the Harmonized System.

What is the import duty on organic surface-active agents: other in the UK?

Under the UK Global Tariff, imports under 3402.90 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 organic surface-active agents: other in the EU?

Under the EU Combined Nomenclature, imports under 3402.90 from countries without a preferential agreement are charged at 4%. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.

Which country exports the most organic surface-active agents: other?

Germany, with US$1bn in 2024 (14.7% of world exports).

Which countries can export other surfactant and washing preparations 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 other surfactant and washing preparations?

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 other surfactant and washing preparations from?

In the 12 months to August 2026, the largest suppliers were Germany (20%), United States (11%) and France (10%), out of total imports of £170.7m.