Your 98% Sulfuric Acid Can't Ship This Year — China Closed the Export Window Through 31 December
Your 98% Sulfuric Acid Can't Ship This Year — China Closed the Export Window Through 31 December
Executive Summary
China has banned exports of ordinary industrial sulfuric acid for the rest of 2026. If you buy 93% or 98% grade — or smelter by-product acid — from a Chinese supplier, your shipment will not clear customs this year. Only G5 electronic-grade (purity at or above 99.99999%) can still move, and only with three documents in hand. Here is what to tell your supplier this week.
| Control measure | MOFCOM & GACC Announcement No. 12 (2026) |
| Ban window | 1 May – 31 Dec 2026 |
| Export rebate | 0% |
| HS code blocked | 2807.00.0010 |
| Banned grades | 93% / 98% industrial; smelter by-product |
| Only exception | G5 electronic grade, ≥99.99999% purity |
| To export G5 you need | G5 cert + end-use pledge + chip/panel buyer backing |
What China Just Closed
China has shut the export door on ordinary industrial sulfuric acid for the rest of 2026. The order comes from MOFCOM and the General Administration of Customs Announcement No. 12, and it runs from 1 May to 31 December. If you buy 93% or 98% grade — or smelter by-product acid — from a Chinese supplier, your shipment will not clear customs this year, full stop.
Don't bet on reclassifying it.
The export rebate on this line is now 0%, and HS code 2807.00.0010 is hard-blocked in the customs system through 31 December. A supplier who tells you "we'll relabel it" is selling you a problem, not a solution. Customs now reads source, purity and end-use line by line — and a false declaration means detained cargo, return freight, and a fine on top. My advice: confirm which acid you actually hold before you book anything.
Why Ordinary Acid Got Pulled
The trigger is "dual-use." Sulfuric acid looks like a basic commodity, but raise the concentration and it slides toward restricted applications — so Beijing now ties it to the same controls as military-civilian dual-use items. My read: this is not a temporary tighten. Regulators are watching acid as a sensitive product for the long run, and they'd rather close the export tap than chase every diversion after the fact.
The point is the slit they left is almost impossible to use. G5 electronic-grade — purity at or above 99.99999% — can still move, but only into semiconductor and panel cleaning and etching. Industrial use is flat-out rejected.
Can your supplier prove G5 today? Chances are no. The qualification bar (purity cert, end-use commitment, and a semiconductor or panel customer's backing) is too high for a normal trader to clear. The bar is high. That's the catch — "theoretically exportable" and "actually shippable" are two different things here.
What to Do Before Your Next Order
If you genuinely hold an electronic-grade order, all three conditions must be met before you file: the G5 purity certificate, a written end-use commitment, and a semiconductor or panel customer's endorsement. Miss one and the window stays shut.
Already have ordinary acid sitting at port? Pull the order now — switch to domestic sale or another market before customs returns it. The detention and demurrage on a returned box start in the tens of thousands of yuan per shipment, and they climb fast. Don't wait for the rejection to move.
The short answer: ask yourself one question — does your acid actually meet G5? If not, don't put it on the export line.
Three Lines to Send Your Team
Industrial acid: don't touch the export channel this year. Electronic grade: first ask whether it truly clears G5. Ordinary acid already in transit: pull the order today, not after the return notice.
Forward this to the colleague who handles your China chemical buys — it could save their next shipment from a returned box.
Market Outlook
My read: treat this as a permanent shift, not a seasonal one. Beijing is holding sulfuric acid as a sensitive dual-use item, so plan your 2026 China acid purchases around the G5 exception now — ordinary grade is off the table until at least 1 January 2027. The practical move is to ask your supplier for the G5 certificate and end-use letter before you sign, not after the box is booked. Chances are most traders can't clear that bar, so qualify your source early or line up an alternate origin. Either way, build the documentation check into your purchase order, because the filing — not the freight — is what will make or break the shipment.
JETWAY Supply Chain is your execution partner on the ground in China — based in Tianjin, licensed as an NVOCC (MOT) and a member of CIFA, FIATA and WCA. We handle special cargo and compliance (dangerous goods, chemicals, batteries) across ocean, air, rail and road, and we pre-check your documents before the box is stuffed so your filing clears the first time. Send us your next booking and we will run the checks above against your sailing date. Request a quote.