Chemical data reporting is the TSCA rule that catches importers who never think of themselves as manufacturers. Under 40 CFR 711, issued under TSCA section 8(a), anyone who imports 25,000 pounds or more of a listed chemical substance at one site in a single calendar year must file a report with EPA every four years, describing volumes, sites, workers and downstream uses. For a distributor of solvents, additives and resin systems, a handful of containers can cross that line, and mixtures are counted per component, not per product.
This guide is for importers and distributors of chemicals, resins and additives, including the companies we support through cosmetics and chemical logistics. It covers who reports, how the thresholds are counted, the 2028 submission period, the exemptions that fit imported material, and the supplier records to hold before June 2028. Regulatory text verified against the eCFR as of October 26, 2026.
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Who Reports: Importers Count as Manufacturers Under 40 CFR 711.8
The CDR rule applies to manufacturers, and 40 CFR 711.3 defines manufacture as to manufacture, produce or import for commercial purposes. A company that only imports and resells a chemical is therefore a manufacturer for CDR purposes, and under 711.8 must test every substance at every site.
Who is the importer is set by 40 CFR 704.3: the person who imports a chemical substance, including a substance that is part of a mixture or article, into the customs territory of the United States. That covers the person primarily liable for duties, normally the importer of record, or an authorized agent acting on its behalf, and where appropriate the consignee. When a distributor buys on delivered terms and a foreign supplier or a nonresident affiliate acts as importer of record, more than one party can meet the definition. Section 711.22(b) requires only one report per import transaction and lets those parties decide among themselves who files, but if nobody files, EPA holds each of them liable. The allocation belongs in the supply agreement, not in an email chain in May 2028.
For importers, the reporting site is not the port or the warehouse. Under 711.3 it is the U.S. site of the operating unit directly responsible for importing, which may be the U.S. headquarters. If the importer has no U.S. operating unit or headquarters, the site is the U.S. address of an agent authorized to accept service of process for it. All imports controlled by that unit are aggregated against the threshold.
CDR is separate from the certification made at entry. Nothing is presented to CBP for CDR and a missing CDR report does not hold a container at the port; the entry-level obligation is the positive or negative statement covered in our guide to TSCA import certification.
CDR Thresholds: 25,000 lb, 2,500 lb and How Mixtures Count
Section 711.8(a) sets the standard threshold at 25,000 lb (11,340 kg) of a chemical substance at a single site in any calendar year since the last principal reporting year. Section 711.8(b) drops it to 2,500 lb (1,134 kg) for substances that are the subject of a rule proposed or promulgated under TSCA section 5(a)(2), such as a significant new use rule, section 5(b)(4) or section 6, an order under section 4, 5(e) or 5(f), or relief granted in a civil action under section 5 or 7. EPA publishes a CDR Chemical Status Spreadsheet listing reportable chemicals and their applicable threshold and updates it by June 1 of each submission year, so the 2028 version is the one to check against the import history.
Only substances on the TSCA Inventory at the start of the submission period are reportable (711.5), so a new chemical added to the Inventory after a notice of commencement during the cycle is in scope if it is listed by June 1, 2028.
Mixtures are where distributors most often miscount. EPA’s 2024 reporting instructions state that mixtures themselves are not reported, but each component substance is, and the threshold applies to each component separately. The importer calculates the volume of each component from the weight of each shipment and its percent composition, then adds that component across every mixture imported for the site, plus any domestic production at the same site. Three different coating additives that each contain the same solvent are summed into one solvent total. A substance that the TSCA Inventory treats as a single UVCB, such as many complex reaction products, is counted as a whole, not by its constituents.
| HTS line | Product | CDR treatment | MFN | China additional / total | EU additional / total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2905.13.0000 | n-Butyl alcohol (butan-1-ol) | Discrete substance: full weight counts toward the threshold | 5.5% | 301 List 3 25% + forced-labor 12.5% / 43% | Forced-labor top-up 4.5% / 10% |
| 2905.13.0000 (cont.) | Same line, pharmaceutical-use entries | Same CDR treatment | 5.5% | 301 List 3 25% (forced-labor exempt, note 52(e)) / 30.5% | Forced-labor exempt / 5.5% |
| 3907.30.0000 | Epoxide resins in primary forms | Polymer exemption depends on the product: only if the Inventory name qualifies under 711.6(a)(1) | 6.1% | 301 List 2 25% + forced-labor 12.5% / 43.6% | Forced-labor top-up 3.9% / 10% |
| 3906.90.5000 | Acrylic polymers in primary forms, other | Polymer exemption depends on the product; reactive monomers or solvents in the system still count | 4.2% | 301 List 2 25% + forced-labor 12.5% / 41.7% | Forced-labor top-up 5.8% / 10% |
| 3812.39.6000 | Compound stabilizers and antioxidants for rubber or plastics, other | Usually a mixture: each component counts separately | 6.5% | 301 List 3 25% + forced-labor 12.5% / 44% | Forced-labor top-up 3.5% / 10% |
| 3811.21.0000 | Lubricating oil additives containing petroleum oils | Mixture: each component counts separately | 6.5% | 301 List 2 25% + forced-labor 12.5% / 44% | Forced-labor top-up 3.5% / 10% |
| 3824.99.9397 | Chemical products and preparations not elsewhere specified, other | Mixture: each component counts separately | 5% | 301 List 3 25% + forced-labor 12.5% / 42.5% | Forced-labor top-up 5% / 10% |
Reading the Table
Totals are MFN plus additional duties. Antidumping and countervailing duties and Section 301 product exclusions are not included. China rows carry the Section 301 list duty (Lists 2 and 3 are both 25% on these lines) plus the 12.5% duty described in our guide to Section 301 forced labor tariffs. For EU goods with an MFN rate under 10%, heading 9903.05.39 sets the combined rate at 10%. Under note 52(e) to chapter 99, the forced-labor duty does not apply to goods for use in pharmaceutical applications classified in listed provisions, which include 2905.13.00, 3906.90.50, 3907.30.00 and 3824.99.93; the second row shows that case. Neither line is on the current Section 232 derivative lists in note 16, so no Section 232 duty applies to them. Run full entries through the China to US tariff calculator or the EU to US tariff calculator.
The 2028 Reporting Cycle: Submission Window and What It Covers
CDR runs on a four-year cycle. Section 711.20 sets recurring submission periods from June 1 to September 30 every four years beginning in 2028, and EPA’s CDR pages confirm the next window as June 1 to September 30, 2028. The 2024 cycle was extended once, to November 22, 2024, by a final rule at 89 FR 79150; no extension should be assumed for 2028.
The 2028 report looks back over calendar years 2024 through 2027. If the importer crossed the applicable threshold for a substance at a site in any one of those four years, it reports that substance. The principal reporting year, defined in 711.3 as the latest complete calendar year before the submission period, is 2027, and most of the detail is tied to it. For 2027 the importer reports domestic and imported volume separately to two significant figures, the volume used on site and the volume exported directly, whether the imported substance was ever physically at the reporting site, and the number of workers reasonably likely to be exposed. For 2024, 2025 and 2026 it reports total annual volume only.
Section 711.15(b)(4) also asks, for 2027, how the substance is processed and used at every U.S. site that receives it, directly or indirectly, including through a broker, distributor or customer: industrial operation and sector codes, function codes, the number of use sites, consumer and commercial product categories, whether the substance ends up in or on products intended for children 14 or younger, and maximum concentration ranges. The duty is limited to what is known or reasonably ascertainable.
Reports go on Form U through EPA’s e-CDRweb tool in the Central Data Exchange (CDX), one Form U per site (711.15(a), 711.35). The filing needs D-U-N-S numbers for the highest-level U.S. parent, any foreign parent and the site, a six-digit NAICS code, a technical contact, and a certification signed by an authorized official. CDX user roles and D-U-N-S numbers have to exist before a Form U can be signed, so registration belongs in 2027, not September 2028.
Exemptions That Apply to Imported Chemicals, Articles and Byproducts
Section 711.10(b) exempts a chemical substance imported as part of an article. The 704.3 definition of article requires an item formed to a specific shape or design whose end-use function depends on that shape, and it states that fluids and particles are never articles, regardless of their container. A drum of plasticizer or a bag of pigment is not an article.
Section 711.10(c), through 40 CFR 720.30(g) and (h), exempts impurities, non-isolated intermediates, byproducts with no commercial purpose, byproducts used only as fuel, waste or for extraction of components, and substances formed by incidental reactions during storage, exposure to the environment or end use. Section 711.10(a) exempts small quantities imported solely for research and development, meaning no more than reasonably necessary for that purpose.
Section 711.6(a) fully exempts four categories of substances: polymers, defined as substances whose Chemical Abstracts index name contains polym, alkyd or oxylated, or that the Inventory identifies as enzymes, lignin, polysaccharides, proteins, rubber, siloxanes and silicones or silsesquioxanes; microorganisms; naturally occurring substances; and water and listed forms of natural gas. For resin importers this is the most valuable exemption, but it attaches to the substance name, not to the product, and it is lost when the substance is subject to a TSCA section 4, 5(a)(2), 5(b)(4) or 6 rule, an enforceable consent agreement or a section 4, 5(e) or 5(f) order. Solvents, unreacted monomers and additives sold with the resin are separate substances and are counted under the mixture rule.
The Small Manufacturer Exemption
Section 711.9 excludes small manufacturers as defined in 704.3. A company qualifies if its total annual sales, combined with any parent, are below $12 million regardless of volume, or below $120 million provided it did not import more than 100,000 lb (45,400 kg) of the substance at any site in a year. Sales include subsidiaries and any foreign or domestic parent, so a U.S. distribution subsidiary of a large foreign chemical group rarely qualifies. Small manufacturers still report substances subject to rules under TSCA section 4, 5(b)(4) or 6, or orders under section 4 or 5(e).
Importer Records to Collect From Suppliers Now
Section 711.25 requires every person subject to CDR to keep records documenting what it reported for five years from the last day of the submission period, which for the 2028 cycle runs to September 30, 2033, and 711.1(d) requires those records to be open to EPA. Section 711.25 does not require a file for substances that stayed below the threshold, but the same file is the only way to show why no report was filed, since the test runs substance by substance and year by year. Four sets of documents carry most of that weight.
First, composition. For every imported mixture, the importer needs each component’s chemical identity, CAS number and percentage by weight. A safety data sheet often gives ranges and omits non-hazardous components, so supply agreements should require full composition, or, where the supplier claims confidentiality, a commitment to complete a joint submission. Under 711.15(b)(3)(i)(A), an importer that cannot identify a confidential component must use e-CDRweb to ask the supplier to report the identity and formulation percentage directly to EPA, and must include the supplier contact, trade name and a copy of the request in its own filing.
Second, volumes. Entry data is the cleanest source of imported weight: net quantity by entry line on the CBP Form 7501 and commercial invoice, tied to the product code used in the composition file. Third, TSCA status: the Inventory listing, any polymer exemption basis, and whether a substance is on EPA’s 2,500 lb list. Fourth, downstream use: customer use and sector information for 2027, collected with the safety data sheet distribution rather than in a single survey in 2028.
The cost of getting this wrong is set by statute. Under 711.1(c), failing to submit a CDR report or to keep and give access to records violates TSCA section 15. The civil penalty ceiling under 15 U.S.C. 2615(a)(1) is $49,772 per violation, as adjusted in 40 CFR 19.4, and each day a violation continues counts as a separate violation. A chemical import review of the 2024 to 2026 entry history is the practical way to find which substances are approaching the threshold before the 2027 principal reporting year closes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is TSCA Chemical Data Reporting?
Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) is EPA’s TSCA section 8(a) rule at 40 CFR 711. It requires manufacturers, including importers, of chemical substances on the TSCA Inventory to report production or import volumes, site information and processing and use data every four years when they reach 25,000 lb or more, or 2,500 lb or more for certain regulated substances, at a site in any calendar year of the cycle.
Do importers have to file CDR reports?
Yes. 40 CFR 711.3 defines manufacture to include import, so an importer that brings in 25,000 lb or more of a reportable substance at one site in any calendar year since the last principal reporting year must report, unless an exemption applies. If more than one party meets the importer definition for a transaction, they may agree who files, but EPA holds each liable if no one does.
When is the next CDR deadline?
The next submission period runs from June 1 to September 30, 2028. It covers calendar years 2024 through 2027, with 2027 as the principal reporting year for which detailed volume, worker and use information is required.
How do mixtures count toward the CDR threshold?
Mixtures are not reported as such; each component chemical substance is. The importer multiplies the weight of each imported mixture by the component’s percent composition and adds that component across all mixtures imported for the reporting site in the year. If the total reaches 25,000 lb, or 2,500 lb for listed substances, the component is reportable.
Are imported resins and polymers exempt from CDR?
Usually, but not automatically. 40 CFR 711.6(a)(1) exempts polymers whose Chemical Abstracts index name contains polym, alkyd or oxylated, plus certain named classes such as silicones. The exemption does not apply if the polymer is subject to a rule proposed or promulgated under TSCA section 4, 5(a)(2), 5(b)(4) or 6, an enforceable consent agreement, or an order under section 4, 5(e) or 5(f), and solvents, monomers and additives shipped with the resin are counted separately.
Does CDR apply to chemicals contained in imported articles?
No. 40 CFR 711.10(b) exempts chemical substances imported as part of an article. Liquids, powders and other fluids or particles are never articles, so chemicals imported in drums, totes, bags or bulk are not covered by this exemption.
How long must CDR records be kept?
Five years from the last day of the submission period under 40 CFR 711.25. For the 2028 cycle, which closes September 30, 2028, records supporting what was reported must be kept until September 30, 2033.
