Refractory nonconstructional ceramic goods not elsewhere specified (retorts, muffles, plugs etc.), containing over 50% (wt.) singly or combined, of alumina or silica

US trade by year

US imports were $182.7M in the 12 months to Aug 2026, up 23% on the 12 months to Aug 2017. US exports were $129.2M, up 5.0%. Dotted lines mark lasting changes in duty paid, labelled with the supplier, or "Duty" when several moved; the tariff timeline lists each one with its notices.

• Mexico
• Japan
• China
• India
• All countries

Who supplies the US

August 2026. Small figures under each value are the change from August 2025. Landed cost by origin, below, adds freight and duty to the price.

The 3 largest suppliers had 50.6% of US imports over the last 12 months.

Landed cost by origin

What importers paid to land this product at a US port from each main supplier, June–August 2026: the price, freight and insurance to the first US port, and duty, per unit. Suppliers with 3% or more of these imports, cheapest landed first. Small figures under landed cost are the change from the same months a year earlier.

• Price
• Freight and insurance
• Duty

Landed at a US port, Canada was cheapest, at $3.65/kg: 36.2% below Japan.

Landed cost from Germany rose 25% on a year earlier, to $10.64/kg, mostly on price: $7.65/kg then, $9.32/kg now.

How the market is shifting

China gained the most share: 10.8% of US imports over the last 12 months, up from 7.7% in the 12 months before. Mexico lost the most: 22.7%, down from 24.7%. The charts show September 2024 to August 2026 for the 4 largest suppliers over the last 12 months. Dotted lines mark lasting changes in duty paid, labelled with the supplier, or "Duty" when several moved; the tariff timeline lists each one with its notices.

• Mexico
• Japan
• China
• India
• All countries

Tariff actions touching this product

When the duty paid on this product changed and stayed changed, for its main suppliers and all countries, newest first, with the Federal Register notices that named the product in the 3 months before. Rates are medians of the 4 months either side, less any usual seasonal swing. A change shows what happened to duty paid, not why; read each notice for what it did.

1. February–March 2026 · Duty paid: Japan 15.0% → 10.0%, India 21.1% → 2.3%, China 47.0% → 29.6%, all countries 13.4% → 8.3%.
2. August 2025 · Duty paid: India 3.8% → 21.4%.
3. March–May 2025 · Duty paid: Japan 0.0% → 9.9%, Germany 0.0% → 10.0%, China 24.8% → 50.1%, all countries 2.8% → 8.4%.
4. June 2019 · Duty paid: China 9.4% → 23.4%.
5. October 2018 · Duty paid: China 0.0% → 9.9%.
   • Request for Comments Concerning Proposed Modification of Action Pursuant to Section 301: China's Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and InnovationJul 17, 2018 · Office of the US Trade Representative

Markets abroad

Each country's own import figures for this product, from UN Comtrade: the 8 biggest importers outside the US in the latest year each has reported, what they bought from the US, and the change from the year before. Values usually include freight and insurance to the importer's border, so they run a little above US export figures. Countries report a year or more late; 109 have reported 2025 so far. Where a country's figure for imports from the US is under half or over double what the US recorded exporting there that year, the US figure is shown under it.

The biggest market outside the US is South Korea, which imported $71.6M of this product in 2025, 5.1% of that from the US.

The US supplies 62.0% of imports into Mexico and 44.3% into Canada, but under 10% into South Korea, Germany and Turkey.

Of these, imports into Mexico grew fastest: up 11% from 2024 to 2025.

Related products

Other products under heading 6903: refractory ceramic goods other than those of siliceous fossil meals or of similar siliceous earths, not elsewhere specified. US trade over the 12 months to August 2026.