Chapter · Section VI
Chapter 38: Miscellaneous chemical products
- 0%–8%UK
- 0%–6.5%EU
- 15%–100%Türkiye
- 0%–6.5%USA
- US$268.9bnWorld trade in 2024
27 headings make up chapter 38, part of section VI, products of the chemical or allied industries.
In the UK Global Tariff, chapter 38 covers 501 tariff lines and the duty is between 0% and 8%. 131 of them are duty-free. 4 lines have a specific or compound duty.
The EU Combined Nomenclature divides chapter 38 into 177 tariff lines; the duty is between 0% and 6.5% (average 5.2%). 18 of them are duty-free. 8 lines have a specific or compound duty.
In the Turkish Customs Tariff Schedule, chapter 38 covers 305 tariff lines and the statutory rate is between 15% and 100%.
World trade in chapter 38 goods reached US$268.9bn in 2024, down 6.2% on 2023.
The United States was the largest exporter with 14.7% of the total, ahead of Germany.
The United States imported the most (US$22.4bn).
Duty rates compared
The Turkish schedule prints the statutory rate set under Customs Law 474. The rate applied at import is laid down in the Import Regime Decision and can be lower, or different by country of origin.
Headings 27
- 3801Artificial graphite; colloidal or semi-colloidal graphite; preparations based on graphite or other carbon in the form of pastes, blocks, plates or other semi-manufactures
- 3802Activated carbon; activated natural mineral products; animal black, including spent animal black
- 3803Tall oil, whether or not refined
- 3804Residual lyes from the manufacture of wood pulp, whether or not concentrated, desugared or chemically treated, including lignin sulphonates, but excluding tall oil of heading 3803
- 3805Gum, wood or sulphate turpentine and other terpenic oils produced by the distillation or other treatment of coniferous woods; crude dipentene; sulphite turpentine and other crude para-cymene; pine oil containing alpha-terpineol as the main constituent
- 3806Rosin and resin acids, and derivatives thereof; rosin spirit and rosin oils; run gums
- 3807Wood tar; wood tar oils; wood creosote; wood naphtha; vegetable pitch; brewers' pitch and similar preparations based on rosin, resin acids or on vegetable pitch
- 3808Insecticides, rodenticides, fungicides, herbicides, anti-sprouting products and plant-growth regulators, disinfectants and similar products, put up in forms or packings for retail sale or as preparations or articles (for example, sulphur-treated bands, wicks and candles, and fly-papers)
- 3809Finishing agents, dye carriers to accelerate the dyeing or fixing of dyestuffs and other products and preparations (for example, dressings and mordants), of a kind used in the textile, paper, leather or like industries, not elsewhere specified or included
- 3810Pickling preparations for metal surfaces; fluxes and other auxiliary preparations for soldering, brazing or welding; soldering, brazing or welding powders and pastes consisting of metal and other materials; preparations of a kind used as cores or coatings for welding electrodes or rods
- 3811Anti-knock preparations, oxidation inhibitors, gum inhibitors, viscosity improvers, anti-corrosive preparations and other prepared additives, for mineral oils (including gasoline) or for other liquids used for the same purposes as mineral oils
- 3812Prepared rubber accelerators; compound plasticisers for rubber or plastics, not elsewhere specified or included; anti-oxidising preparations and other compound stabilisers for rubber or plastics
- 3813Preparations and charges for fire-extinguishers; charged fire-extinguishing grenades
- 3814Organic composite solvents and thinners, not elsewhere specified or included; prepared paint or varnish removers
- 3815Reaction initiators, reaction accelerators and catalytic preparations, not elsewhere specified or included
- 3816Refractory cements, mortars, concretes and similar compositions, including dolomite ramming mix, other than products of heading 3801
- 3817Mixed alkylbenzenes and mixed alkylnaphthalenes, other than those of heading 2707 or 2902
- 3818Chemical elements doped for use in electronics, in the form of discs, wafers or similar forms; chemical compounds doped for use in electronics
- 3819Hydraulic brake fluids and other prepared liquids for hydraulic transmission, not containing or containing less than 70 % by weight of petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals
- 3820Anti-freezing preparations and prepared de-icing fluids
- 3821Prepared culture media for the development or maintenance of micro-organisms (including viruses and the like) or of plant, human or animal cells
- 3822Diagnostic or laboratory reagents on a backing, prepared diagnostic or laboratory reagents whether or not on a backing, whether or not put up in the form of kits, other than those of heading 3006; certified reference materials
- 3823Industrial monocarboxylic fatty acids; acid oils from refining; industrial fatty alcohols
- 3824Prepared binders for foundry moulds or cores; chemical products and preparations of the chemical or allied industries (including those consisting of mixtures of natural products), not elsewhere specified or included
- 3825Residual products of the chemical or allied industries, not elsewhere specified or included; municipal waste; sewage sludge; other wastes specified in note 6 to this chapter
- 3826Biodiesel and mixtures thereof, not containing or containing less than 70 % by weight of petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals
- 3827Mixtures containing halogenated derivatives of methane, ethane or propane, not elsewhere specified or included
World trade in 2024
Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$7.6mUS$7.6m+US$206.4m+US$2.1bn+> US$10.4bn
Exports: 221
- United States: US$39.5bn
- Germany: US$33.5bn
- China: US$32.7bn
- Japan: US$14.2bn
- France: US$14.2bn
- Netherlands: US$12.1bn
- Belgium: US$10.4bn
- Indonesia: US$8bn
- Italy: US$7.6bn
- United Kingdom: US$7.3bn
- South Korea: US$7bn
- Spain: US$6.4bn
- Singapore: US$6.3bn
- Malaysia: US$6bn
- India: US$6bn
- Ireland: US$5.1bn
- Poland: US$4.2bn
- Taiwan: US$3.8bn
- Canada: US$3.8bn
- Sweden: US$3.2bn
- Austria: US$2.2bn
- North Macedonia: US$2.1bn
- Thailand: US$2bn
- Denmark: US$1.9bn
- Mexico: US$1.8bn
- Switzerland: US$1.8bn
- Vietnam: US$1.7bn
- Czechia: US$1.6bn
- Türkiye: US$1.5bn
- Brazil: US$1.5bn
- Hungary: US$1.3bn
- Lithuania: US$1.1bn
- Saudi Arabia: US$1.1bn
- Argentina: US$1.1bn
- Israel: US$1.1bn
- South Africa: US$1bn
- Finland: US$1bn
- Norway: US$1bn
- Bulgaria: US$720.1m
- Colombia: US$631.6m
- Portugal: US$570.6m
- Australia: US$538.1m
- Russia: US$532.8m
- Greece: US$496.8m
- Slovenia: US$489.7m
- United Arab Emirates: US$441.6m
- Latvia: US$381.1m
- Guatemala: US$374.2m
- Egypt: US$365.1m
- Hong Kong SAR China: US$362.6m
- Philippines: US$330.4m
- Slovakia: US$320.7m
- Eswatini: US$272m
- Romania: US$210.8m
- Costa Rica: US$206.4m
- Estonia: US$195.3m
- Qatar: US$185.4m
- Sri Lanka: US$185.1m
- Luxembourg: US$168.9m
- Croatia: US$153.2m
Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$116.7mUS$116.7m+US$659.7m+US$3.3bn+> US$8.2bn
Imports: 225
- United States: US$22.4bn
- Germany: US$20.2bn
- China: US$19.9bn
- Netherlands: US$13.6bn
- France: US$11.7bn
- South Korea: US$8.7bn
- Belgium: US$8.2bn
- Italy: US$8bn
- Brazil: US$7.7bn
- India: US$7.4bn
- Japan: US$7.2bn
- Canada: US$6.7bn
- Mexico: US$6.7bn
- United Kingdom: US$6.4bn
- Taiwan: US$6.1bn
- Spain: US$5.9bn
- Poland: US$5.1bn
- Thailand: US$4.8bn
- Singapore: US$4.7bn
- Malaysia: US$4.4bn
- Indonesia: US$3.7bn
- Vietnam: US$3.5bn
- Türkiye: US$3.3bn
- Czechia: US$3bn
- Australia: US$3bn
- Saudi Arabia: US$2.8bn
- Russia: US$2.5bn
- Austria: US$2.5bn
- Switzerland: US$2.3bn
- Sweden: US$2.2bn
- South Africa: US$2.1bn
- United Arab Emirates: US$2.1bn
- Romania: US$1.9bn
- Portugal: US$1.8bn
- Hungary: US$1.7bn
- Philippines: US$1.6bn
- Argentina: US$1.6bn
- Hong Kong SAR China: US$1.5bn
- Colombia: US$1.5bn
- Egypt: US$1.3bn
- Ireland: US$1.3bn
- Denmark: US$1.3bn
- Norway: US$1.2bn
- Chile: US$1.2bn
- Ukraine: US$1.2bn
- Peru: US$1.1bn
- Greece: US$1bn
- Slovakia: US$1bn
- Israel: US$952.3m
- Finland: US$925.2m
- Bangladesh: US$884m
- Pakistan: US$860.2m
- Kazakhstan: US$836.2m
- Morocco: US$779.7m
- Lithuania: US$688.2m
- Slovenia: US$676.8m
- Paraguay: US$659.7m
- Kuwait: US$657.9m
- Nigeria: US$643.1m
- Algeria: US$642.4m
Top exporters
| Rank | Country | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US$39.5bn | 14.7% | |
| 2 | US$33.5bn | 12.4% | |
| 3 | US$32.7bn | 12.2% | |
| 4 | US$14.2bn | 5.3% | |
| 5 | US$14.2bn | 5.3% | |
| 6 | US$12.1bn | 4.5% | |
| 7 | US$10.4bn | 3.9% | |
| 8 | US$8bn | 3% | |
| 9 | US$7.6bn | 2.8% | |
| 10 | US$7.3bn | 2.7% |
Top importers
| Rank | Country | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US$22.4bn | 8.3% | |
| 2 | US$20.2bn | 7.5% | |
| 3 | US$19.9bn | 7.4% | |
| 4 | US$13.6bn | 5.1% | |
| 5 | US$11.7bn | 4.4% | |
| 6 | US$8.7bn | 3.2% | |
| 7 | US$8.2bn | 3.1% | |
| 8 | US$8bn | 3% | |
| 9 | US$7.7bn | 2.9% | |
| 10 | US$7.4bn | 2.7% |
Chapter notes
Notes
1. This chapter does not cover:
(a) separate chemically defined elements or compounds with the exception of the following:
(1) artificial graphite (heading 3801);
(2) insecticides, rodenticides, fungicides, herbicides, anti-sprouting products and plant-growth regulators, disinfectants and similar products, put up as described in heading 3808;
(3) products put up as charges for fire-extinguishers or put up in fire-extinguishing grenades (heading 3813);
(4) certified reference materials specified in note 2 below;
(5) products specified in note 3(a) or 3(c) below;
(b) mixtures of chemicals with foodstuffs or other substances with nutritive value, of a kind used in the preparation of human foodstuffs (generally, heading 2106);
(c) products of heading 2404;
(d) slag, ash and residues (including sludges, other than sewage sludge), containing metals, arsenic or their mixtures and meeting the requirements of note 3(a) or 3(b) to Chapter 26 (heading 2620);
(f) spent catalysts of a kind used for the extraction of base metals or for the manufacture of chemical compounds of base metals (heading 2620), spent catalysts of a kind used principally for the recovery of precious metal (heading 7112) or catalysts consisting of metals or metal alloys in the form of, for example, finely divided powder or woven gauze (Section XIV or XV).
2.
(A) For the purpose of heading 3822, the expression ‘certified reference materials’ means reference materials which are accompanied by a certificate which indicates the values of the certified properties, the methods used to determine these values and the degree of certainty associated with each value and which are suitable for analytical, calibrating or referencing purposes.
(B) With the exception of the products of Chapter 28 or 29, for the classification of certified reference materials, heading 3822 shall take precedence over any other heading in the nomenclature.
3. Heading 3824 includes the following goods which are not to be classified in any other heading of the nomenclature:
(a) cultured crystals (other than optical elements) weighing not less than 2,5 g each, of magnesium oxide or of the halides of the alkali or alkaline-earth metals;
(b) fusel oil; Dippel's oil;
(c) ink removers put up in packings for retail sale;
(d) stencil correctors, other correcting fluids and correction tapes (other than those of heading 9612), put up in packings for retail sale; and
(e) ceramic firing testers, fusible (for example, Seger cones).
4. Throughout the nomenclature, ‘municipal waste’ means waste of a kind collected from households, hotels, restaurants, hospitals, shops, offices, etc., road and pavement sweepings, as well as construction and demolition waste. Municipal waste generally contains a large variety of materials such as plastics, rubber, wood, paper, textiles, glass, metals, food materials, broken furniture and other damaged or discarded articles. The term ‘municipal waste’, however, does not cover:
(a) individual materials or articles segregated from the waste, for example wastes of plastics, rubber, wood, paper, textiles, glass or metals, electrical and electronic waste and scrap (including spent batteries) which fall in their appropriate headings of the nomenclature;
(b) industrial waste;
(c) waste pharmaceuticals, as defined in note 4(k) to Chapter 30; or
(d) clinical waste, as defined in note 6(a) below.
5. For the purposes of heading 3825, ‘sewage sludge’ means sludge arising from urban effluent treatment plant and includes pre-treatment waste, scourings and unstabilised sludge. Stabilised sludge when suitable for use as fertiliser is excluded (Chapter 31).
6. For the purposes of heading 3825, the expression ‘other wastes’ applies to:
(a) clinical waste, that is, contaminated waste arising from medical research, diagnosis, treatment or other medical, surgical, dental or veterinary procedures, which often contain pathogens and pharmaceutical substances and require special disposal procedures (for example, soiled dressings, used gloves and used syringes);
(b) waste organic solvents;
(c) wastes of metal pickling liquors, hydraulic fluids, brake fluids and anti-freezing fluids; and
(d) other wastes from chemical or allied industries.
The expression ‘other wastes’ does not, however, cover wastes which contain mainly petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals (heading 2710).
7. For the purposes of heading 3826, the term ‘biodiesel’ means mono-alkyl esters of fatty acids of a kind used as a fuel, derived from animal, vegetable or microbial fats and oils whether or not used.
Subheading notes
1. Subheadings 380852 and 380859 cover only goods of heading 3808, containing one or more of the following substances : alachlor (ISO); aldicarb (ISO); aldrin (ISO); azinphos-methyl (ISO); binapacryl (ISO); camphechlor (ISO) (toxaphene); captafol (ISO); carbofuran (ISO); chlordane (ISO); chlordimeform (ISO); chlorobenzilate (ISO); DDT (ISO) (clofenotane (INN), 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane); dieldrin (ISO, INN); 4,6-dinitro-o-cresol (DNOC (ISO)) or its salts; dinoseb (ISO), its salts or its esters; endosulfan (ISO); ethylene dibromide (ISO) (1,2-dibromoethane); ethylene dichloride (ISO) (1,2-dichloroethane); fluoroacetamide (ISO); heptachlor (ISO); hexachlorobenzene (ISO); 1,2,3,4,5,6-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH (ISO)), including lindane (ISO, INN); mercury compounds; methamidophos (ISO); monocrotophos (ISO); oxirane (ethylene oxide); parathion (ISO); parathion-methyl (ISO) (methyl-parathion); pentachlorophenol (ISO), its salts or its esters; perfluorooctane sulphonic acid and its salts; perfluorooctane sulphonamides; perfluorooctane sulphonyl fluoride; phosphamidon (ISO); 2,4,5-T (ISO) (2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid), its salts or its esters; tributyltin compounds; trichlorfon (ISO).
2. Subheadings 380861 to 380869 cover only goods of heading 3808, containing alpha-cypermethrin (ISO), bendiocarb (ISO), bifenthrin (ISO), chlorfenapyr (ISO), cyfluthrin (ISO), deltamethrin (INN, ISO), etofenprox (INN), fenitrothion (ISO), lambda-cyhalothrin (ISO), malathion (ISO), pirimiphos-methyl (ISO) or propoxur (ISO).
3. Subheadings 382481 to 382489 cover only mixtures and preparations containing one or more of the following substances : oxirane (ethylene oxide); polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs); polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); polychlorinated terphenyls (PCTs); tris(2,3-dibromopropyl) phosphate; aldrin (ISO); camphechlor (ISO) (toxaphene); chlordane (ISO); chlordecone (ISO); DDT (ISO) (clofenotane (INN); 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane); dieldrin (ISO, INN); endosulfan (ISO); endrin (ISO); heptachlor (ISO); mirex (ISO); 1,2,3,4,5,6-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH (ISO)), including lindane (ISO, INN); pentachlorobenzene (ISO); hexachlorobenzene (ISO); perfluorooctane sulphonic acid, its salts; perfluorooctane sulphonamides; perfluorooctane sulphonyl fluoride; tetra-, penta-, hexa-, hepta- or octabromodiphenyl ethers; short-chain chlorinated paraffins.
Short-chain chlorinated paraffins are mixtures of compounds, with a chlorination degree of more than 48 % by weight, with the following molecular formula : CxH(2x-y+2)Cly, where x=10 – 13 and y= 1 – 13.
4. For the purposes of subheadings 382541 and 382549, ‘waste organic solvents’ are wastes containing mainly organic solvents, not fit for further use as presented as primary products, whether or not intended for recovery of the solvents.
Questions and answers
What is the HS code for miscellaneous chemical products?
Miscellaneous chemical products make up HS chapter 38, in section VI of the Harmonized System.
What is the import duty on miscellaneous chemical products in the UK?
Under the UK Global Tariff, imports under 38 from countries without a preferential agreement are charged at 0% to 8%, depending on the line. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
What is the import duty on miscellaneous chemical products in the EU?
Under the EU Combined Nomenclature, imports under 38 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 miscellaneous chemical products?
The United States, with US$39.5bn in 2024 (14.7% of world exports).