Taiwan has imposed export controls on high-density nitrocellulose, an explosives precursor, and there is no record of Taiwanese exports of such a substance, the International Trade Administration (ITA) said on Friday.
No company in Taiwan produces high-density nitrocellulose, it added.
The remarks came after the US Department of the Treasury on Wednesday announced that it has imposed sanctions on three Russian nitrocellulose importers and suppliers — AMS Group, Stroytekhnologiya and Print Kolor — amid Russia’s incursion into Ukraine.
The three Russian companies’ business partners were Russian defense enterprises, such as Russian explosive and ammunition manufacturer Kazan Gunpowder Plant, which has been sanctioned by Washington, the treasury said.
AMS is a major importer of nitrocellulose to Russia, including from East Asia, Europe and Central Asia, while Stroytekhnologiya and Print Kolor are also among the largest Russian nitrocellulose importers, it added.
Russia depends on external suppliers for cotton cellulose and its highly flammable byproduct, nitrocellulose, which are key explosives precursors it needs to keep rolling out gunpowder, rocket propellants and other explosives, the US Department of the Treasury said.
The three sanctioned firms had bought Taiwan-made nitrocellulose via Turkey, annual and monthly trade statistics compiled by UN Comtrade Database showed.
Comtrade’s data also showed that after Russia launched its invasion against Ukraine in February 2022, almost 94 percent of Taiwan-made nitrocellulose products shipped to Russia from Jan. 1, 2019 to Dec. 31 last year, were shipped last year, and only 4 percent were sent there in 2022.
From March 1, 2022 to Dec. 31 last year, the three largest nitrocellulose suppliers to Russia were Taiwan, China and Germany, the trade statistics showed.
During the period, Russia bought US$10.60 million and US$5.43 million worth of nitrocellulose from China and Taiwan respectively, the data showed.
However, the ITA said that Taiwan did not sell high-density nitrocellulose, and that the country was not among the major suppliers of low-density nitrocellulose.
Global sales value of low-density nitrocellulose hit US$836 million last year and Taiwan’s exports totaled US$43.80 million, making up only 5.2 percent of the world’s total, ITA said.
The major buyers of Taiwan-made nitrocellulose were Vietnam, the US and Malaysia, which accounted for 47 percent of the nation’s total exports of the product last year, the administration said.
Turkey made up only 3.1 percent of Taiwan’s total nitrocellulose outbound sales last year, while no exports to Russia and Belarus were registered, ITA said.
Most suppliers of nitrocellulose from China and Taiwan did not provide any information regarding nitrogen content and said their products were used in printing and paint production in the private sector, customs data showed.
Only a small number of suppliers from China and Taiwan said nitrogen made up 12.2 percent or less of their nitrocellulose products, the data showed.
Even if the nitrogen content of a nitrocellulose was below 12.5 percent, it can still be used to produce explosives, Centre for Defence Reforms head Oleksandr Danylyuk said, adding that Taiwan should not neglect the issue.
Based on international standards, export controls on nitrocellulose products in which nitrogen makes up more than 12.5 percent of the content have been imposed, Danylyuk said.
To avoid the impact of nitrocellulose shipments reaching Russia through a third party, ITA held 16 export control conferences last year to raise awareness among domestic exporters and conducted on-site investigations on Taiwanese suppliers of nitrocellulose, the administration said.
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