Trade friction increases titanium dioxide tariffs China's titanium dioxide exports face soft landing

On August 2, the United States intends to increase the tax rate on imports of about 200 billion US dollars imported from China from 10% to 25%, including titanium dioxide. On August 3, China decided to impose tariffs of 25%, 20%, 10%, and 5% on 5,207 tax items originating in the United States, including paints, titanium dioxide, pigments, and resins. Chemical commodities such as multiple categories are included in the scope of tariffs. Sino-US trade tensions have intensified.

China is the world's largest exporter of titanium dioxide. The annual export volume is growing steadily. In 2014, the total export volume of titanium dioxide in China was only 552,500 tons. By 2017, the total export volume of titanium dioxide in China has reached 839,900 tons. In July, the total export volume of titanium dioxide in China was 533,000 tons, an increase of 14.57% year-on-year. The United States is also one of the important exporters of titanium dioxide in China.

With the continuous development of the economies of developing countries such as India and Southeast Asia, the demand for titanium dioxide is increasing. As the main supplier of titanium dioxide in these countries, the amount of titanium dioxide exported to these countries is also increasing. In the US market, the demand for titanium dioxide is relatively high. In China, the application of chlorinated titanium dioxide products such as Curtain has been the mainstay. China’s export structure is constantly changing, and the total amount of titanium dioxide exported to the United States accounts for The ratio is constantly shrinking.

According to Zhuo Chuang Information, the total amount of titanium dioxide exported from China to the United States in 2014 was 51,400 tons. By 2017, the amount of titanium dioxide exported to the United States was only 46,200 tons, showing a trend of decreasing year by year. Although China's tariff-levied products contain titanium dioxide, the export of Chinese titanium dioxide will not have much impact.

According to Zhuo Chuang Information, China still has some titanium dioxide dependence on imports, of which the United States is the second largest importer of titanium dioxide in China, but the amount of titanium dioxide imported from the United States is also gradually decreasing. In 2014, China imported titanium from the United States. The total amount of white powder accounts for 26.07% of the total amount of titanium dioxide imported from China. By 2017, the total amount of titanium dioxide imported from the United States accounted for only 16.06% of the total amount of titanium dioxide imported from China. China's dependence on US titanium dioxide is constantly weakening. . At present, with the continuous improvement of the quality of China's titanium dioxide products and the continuous construction of China's chlorinated titanium dioxide capacity, China's demand for overseas high-end titanium dioxide will continue to decrease.

The tension between China and the US economic situation is bound to have a certain impact on the import and export of titanium dioxide between China and the United States. However, from the current structure of China's titanium dioxide import and export, the impact of trade friction on China's titanium dioxide imports will be small and short-lived. With the improvement of the quality of China's titanium dioxide products and the development of chlorinated titanium dioxide, as well as the increasing share of titanium dioxide imported from China in other countries, the impact of trade friction on China's titanium dioxide market is only a soft landing, China The titanium dioxide market will gradually recover.