CAS 64-19-7 · IECSC · People's Republic of China

Acetic acid under IECSC

CH3COOH · 醋酸

Status: Listed. Acetic acid is on the IECSC public portion as a foundational organic acid. New-substance notification under MEE Decree No. 7 (2010) is NOT required. **Acetic acid IS on China's Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals** (Skin Corr. 1A + Flam. Liq. 3 + Acute Tox. 4 inhalation classification). Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit IS required for production / storage / distribution. NOT on Highly Toxic Chemicals Catalog (lighter than phenol batch 13 + formaldehyde batch 18). NOT on Easily-Made Drugs Precursor Chemicals Catalog (acetic anhydride downstream IS on Catalog Category 2 but acetic acid is not). 13% China VAT export rebate. China dominates global capacity (~50%, ~10 Mt/yr) led by Cativa-process producers + coal-route methanol-carbonylation producers.

Acetic acid is comfortably IECSC-listed but IS on Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals (Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit chain required). NOT on Highly Toxic Chemicals Catalog (lighter than phenol batch 13 + formaldehyde batch 18). NOT on Easily-Made Drugs Catalog (acetic anhydride downstream IS but acetic acid is not). 13% China VAT export rebate is structural margin support. China dominates global capacity (~50%, ~10 Mt/yr) split coal-route methanol carbonylation (~40%) and gas-route Cativa methanol carbonylation (~60%). Major Chinese producers: Wujing Chemical (Shanghai SECCO), Yangmei Chemical (Shanxi inland coal-route), Henan Longyu Energy, Yangmei Coal-Hengtian (Shanxi), Sopo Chemical (Jiangsu Yangtze), Sinopec Yanshan, Sinopec Yangzi. **Coal-route Chinese acetic acid (~40% of capacity) carries higher embedded CO2** than gas-route alternatives; CBAM Phase 2 candidate. **Methanol feedstock cost (batch 3) is dominant** (~50-60% of production cost). MEE 2024 guidance prefers gas-route capacity additions. **US AD case status on Chinese-origin acetic acid unverified at audit (verify access.trade.gov)** flows back to Chinese producer pricing and shifts volume to non-US lanes (EU, India, ASEAN, Latin America).

Listing and threshold

Substance Acetic acid (CAS 64-19-7), CH3COOH
Regime China Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances (IECSC), administered by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE)
Jurisdiction People's Republic of China
Status Listed
Tonnage threshold No new-substance threshold applies. Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit required regardless of volume

Classifications under this regime

  • Listed in China's Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals
  • NOT on China's Highly Toxic Chemicals Catalog
  • NOT on the Easily-Made Drugs Precursor Chemicals Catalog (acetic anhydride downstream IS on Catalog Category 2 but acetic acid is not)
  • GB/T 1628-2008 specification applies for industrial-grade acetic acid (Chinese national standard)
  • GB/T 1628-2008 covers minimum 99.0% purity (industrial-grade), formaldehyde content, formic acid content, water content, KMnO4 absorbency
  • GACC export classification: HS 291521 (acetic acid)
  • China dominates global capacity (~50%, ~10 Mt/yr) split coal-route methanol carbonylation (~40%, Yangmei + Henan Longyu + Yangmei-Hengtian) and gas-route Cativa methanol carbonylation (~60%, Sopo + Sinopec + Wujing)
  • GB 6944-2012 dangerous-goods transport classification: Class 8 (corrosive), UN 2789 / 2790

Restrictions and conditions of use

  • **Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit IS required** for any party producing, storing, or distributing acetic acid
  • Hazardous Chemicals Road Transport Permit required for road shipment of bulk acetic acid
  • Customs Inspection Order may apply for export consignments
  • No specific export-restriction or quota system applies (unlike urea / DAP fertilisers)
  • VAT export rebate currently 13% for acetic acid (HS 291521) per organic chemicals chapter rebate schedule; verify before invoicing
  • GB/T 17519 Chinese-language SDS required for domestic distribution
  • MEE 2024 guidance restricts new coal-route capacity; preference for gas-route methanol carbonylation
  • Chinese capacity additions 2024-2026 (Sopo Chemical Phase 3, Wujing Chemical expansion, Sinopec Yanshan Phase 2) extend dominance toward ~55%; gas-route preferred

Importer obligations

For Chinese-origin acetic acid exported abroad, no IECSC obligation falls on the foreign importer. The export-side documentation pack focuses on the Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit chain (producer / forwarder / port operator each hold permits), the GB/T 17519 Chinese-language SDS, and ADG 7.7 Class 8 transport documentation. Major Chinese producers (Wujing Chemical Shanghai, Yangmei Chemical Shanxi, Henan Longyu Energy, Yangmei Coal-Hengtian, Sopo Chemical Jiangsu, Sinopec Yanshan) compete with US domestic producers (Celanese Pampa, Eastman Chemical Kingsport, LyondellBasell Houston) and EU producers (Celanese Frankfurt, BP / Ineos Hull, Eastman Chemical). The dominant economic story for Chinese-origin acetic acid is the **methanol feedstock cost layer** (~50-60% of production cost; methanol economics batch 3 flow through structurally) and the **coal-route vs gas-route carbon-intensity layer**.

Required documents

  • GACC export declaration with HS code 291521
  • Industrial-grade certificate per GB/T 1628-2008 (minimum 99.0% purity)
  • GHS-compliant SDS in Simplified Chinese per GB/T 17519-2013 (effective 31 January 2014, references UN GHS 4th revised edition; verify against the current version of GB/T 17519 at https://www.codeofchina.com/standard/GBT17519-2013.html)
  • Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit chain documentation (producer / forwarder / port operator)
  • Hazardous Chemicals Road Transport Permit (where road-shipped from inland producers)
  • GB 6944-2012 Class 8 dangerous-goods transport documentation
  • Producer-specific AD margin documentation for US lane (case number unverified at audit, verify access.trade.gov)

Common compliance traps

The pitfalls that have bitten importers on this lane in the past. None of these is theoretical.

  • Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit chain is the dominant operational complexity; permit lapses at any node trigger holds
  • 13% VAT rebate is structural margin; verify rebate filing on each shipment
  • NOT on Highly Toxic Chemicals Catalog (lighter than phenol batch 13 + formaldehyde batch 18)
  • NOT on Easily-Made Drugs Catalog (acetic anhydride downstream IS but acetic acid is not)
  • Major Chinese producers concentrated in coastal Cativa-route + Shanxi / Henan inland coal-route: Wujing Chemical (Shanghai SECCO), Yangmei Chemical (Shanxi inland coal-route), Henan Longyu Energy, Yangmei Coal-Hengtian (Shanxi), Sopo Chemical (Jiangsu Yangtze), Sinopec Yanshan, Sinopec Yangzi
  • **Coal-route Chinese acetic acid carries higher embedded CO2** vs gas-route. Coal-route producers concentrated in Shanxi + Henan; ~40% of Chinese capacity. CBAM Phase 2 candidate
  • Methanol feedstock cost layer is dominant (~50-60% of acetic acid production cost). Methanol economics (batch 3) flow through structurally
  • **US AD case status on Chinese-origin acetic acid unverified at audit (verify access.trade.gov)** flows back to Chinese producer pricing and lane allocation; Chinese producers under AD orders shift volume to non-US lanes (EU, India, ASEAN, Latin America)

Where to read next

For substance-level identifiers (formula, molecular weight, SMILES, InChIKey), GHS hazard profile, IMDG transport class, and full sourcing reference for acetic acid, see the CAS 64-19-7 sourcing reference.

For grade-by-grade buying notes, freight maths, supplier-tier pricing, and a worked landed-cost example, the acetic acid cornerstone hub covers the full sourcing chain.

For the structure and history of IECSC, see the IECSC glossary entry.

Need cross-jurisdiction compliance support on this substance? Run it through the REACH / TSCA / IECSC / AICIS / K-REACH checker, or send us the substance and the destination and we will quote FOB China and CIF / DDP landed including the regulatory work on the destination side.

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Cross-jurisdiction profile and sourcing references

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