What is the tonnage threshold for IECSC on vinyl acetate monomer (vam)?

No new-substance threshold applies. Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit required regardless of volume

CAS 108-05-4 · IECSC · People's Republic of China

Vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) under IECSC

C4H6O2 · 醋酸乙烯酯

Status: Listed. VAM is on the IECSC public portion. New-substance notification under MEE Decree No. 7 (2010) is NOT required. **VAM IS on China's Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals** (Carc 2 + Flam. Liq. 2 + STOT SE 3 classification). Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit IS required. NOT on Highly Toxic Chemicals Catalog. NOT on Easily-Made Drugs Precursor Chemicals Catalog. **0% China VAT export rebate** for VAM (HS 291532) reflects Beijing aromatic-petrochemical export-discouragement signal. China dominates global VAM capacity (~40%, ~3-4 Mt/yr) led by Sinopec (Yangzi + Shanghai + Beijing + Sichuan Vinylon), Wacker Chemicals Nanjing JV, Celanese Nanjing JV.

VAM is comfortably IECSC-listed but IS on Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals (Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit chain required). NOT on Highly Toxic Chemicals Catalog. NOT on Easily-Made Drugs Catalog. **0% China VAT export rebate**. China dominates global VAM capacity (~40%, ~3-4 Mt/yr) led by **Sinopec (Yangzi + Shanghai + Beijing + Sichuan Vinylon; Sichuan Vinylon is unique acetylene-route legacy plant)**, Wacker Chemicals Nanjing JV, Celanese Nanjing JV. Production routes: ethylene + acetic acid + oxygen direct gas-phase route (~95% globally); acetylene + acetic acid legacy route (~5% at Sichuan Vinylon, world's last major operating acetylene-route VAM plant). **Acetic acid (batch 19) + ethylene feedstock cost flow-through is dominant**. **EVA / ethylene-vinyl acetate solar PV cell encapsulation is rapidly growing end-use** (China's solar PV manufacturing dominance drives EVA demand growth structurally).

Listing and threshold

Substance	Vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) (CAS 108-05-4), C4H6O2
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
GB/T 2624-2012 specification applies for industrial-grade VAM (Chinese national standard)
GB/T 2624-2012 covers minimum 99.9% purity (industrial-grade), water content, acidity, color (APHA), TBC inhibitor specification
GACC export classification: HS 291532 (vinyl acetate)
China dominates global VAM capacity (~40%, ~3-4 Mt/yr); ~95% via ethylene + acetic acid + oxygen direct gas-phase route (Sinopec Yangzi + Sinopec Shanghai + Sinopec Beijing + Wacker Nanjing JV + Celanese Nanjing JV); ~5% via acetylene + acetic acid legacy route (Sinopec Sichuan Vinylon, world's last major operating acetylene-route VAM plant)
GB 6944-2012 dangerous-goods transport classification: Class 3 (flammable liquid), UN 1301

Restrictions and conditions of use

**Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit IS required** for any party producing, storing, or distributing VAM
Hazardous Chemicals Road Transport Permit required for road shipment
Customs Inspection Order may apply for export consignments
**0% China VAT export rebate** for VAM (HS 291532)
GB/T 17519 Chinese-language SDS required for domestic distribution
MEE 2024 guidance restricts new acetylene-route VAM capacity; preference for gas-phase ethylene route

Importer obligations

For Chinese-origin VAM exported abroad, no IECSC obligation falls on the foreign importer. The export-side documentation pack focuses on the Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit chain, the GB/T 17519 Chinese-language SDS, and ADG 7.7 Class 3 transport documentation. Major Chinese producers: **Sinopec (Yangzi + Shanghai + Beijing + Sichuan Vinylon)**, Wacker Chemicals Nanjing JV, Celanese Nanjing JV. The dominant economic story for Chinese-origin VAM is **acetic acid (batch 19) + ethylene feedstock cost flow-through** + **EVA solar PV cell encapsulation rapidly growing demand** (China's solar PV manufacturing dominance drives EVA demand).

Required documents

GACC export declaration with HS code 291532
Industrial-grade certificate per GB/T 2624-2012 (minimum 99.9% 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
Hazardous Chemicals Road Transport Permit (where road-shipped from inland producers)
GB 6944-2012 Class 3 dangerous-goods transport documentation

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
**0% China VAT export rebate**
NOT on Highly Toxic Chemicals Catalog (lighter than aniline batch 26 + EO batch 28 + TDI batch 31)
NOT on Easily-Made Drugs Catalog
Major Chinese producers: **Sinopec (Yangzi + Shanghai + Beijing + Sichuan Vinylon)** (Sichuan Vinylon is unique acetylene-route legacy plant), Wacker Chemicals Nanjing JV, Celanese Nanjing JV
Production routes: ethylene + acetic acid + oxygen direct gas-phase route (~95%); acetylene + acetic acid legacy route (~5% at Sichuan Vinylon)
**Acetic acid (batch 19) feedstock cost flow-through is dominant** + **ethylene feedstock cost layer**
**EVA / ethylene-vinyl acetate solar PV cell encapsulation is rapidly growing end-use**: China's solar PV manufacturing dominance (~80% of global PV cell + module capacity) drives EVA demand growth structurally
TBC (4-tert-butylcatechol) inhibitor critical for safe storage (200-300 ppm spec)

Where to read next

For substance-level identifiers (formula, molecular weight, SMILES, InChIKey), GHS hazard profile, IMDG transport class, and full sourcing reference for vinyl acetate monomer (vam), see the CAS 108-05-4 sourcing reference.

For grade-by-grade buying notes, freight maths, supplier-tier pricing, and a worked landed-cost example, the vinyl acetate monomer (vam) 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.

Cross-jurisdiction profile and sourcing references

Referenced in

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