U.S. imports of Opium Alkaloids, Derivatives, and Their Salts (SITC 54141) totaled $11.7M in August 2026, imported from 16 countries.
Importers of Opium Alkaloids, Derivatives, and Their Salts paid $95K in duties in August 2026, an average duty rate of 0.81% — duty actually collected as a share of the imports that cleared customs, not the published tariff schedule.
Last updated: August 2026 dataOpium alkaloids — including morphine, codeine, thebaine, and their semi-synthetic derivatives — are tightly controlled at the federal level by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) under the Controlled Substances Act, requiring import permits and quota authorization before any shipment can enter US commerce. FDA also reviews these substances as drug precursors or APIs. The combination of DEA scheduling, aggregate production quotas, and FDA cGMP requirements makes this one of the most compliance-intensive categories in pharmaceutical trade.
AI-written summary of the official U.S. Census Bureau trade figures on this page — verify before relying on it.
21 import shipments a month
Importers must hold a DEA Schedule I or II importer registration, obtain a specific import permit for each shipment, and operate within DEA-established aggregate production quotas. The permit application must identify the foreign exporter, quantity, and intended US registrant recipient.
Thebaine is a controlled Schedule II precursor; it may be imported by a DEA-registered manufacturer for conversion into semi-synthetic opioids such as oxycodone or buprenorphine, but each import transaction requires its own DEA permit and must stay within the annual quota allocation for that substance.
Basic heading 239 of 465 in section 5
Basic heading 54141 · $11.7M of $27.5B
Imports · August 2026
origin
Germany and Australia together supply 69% of it. United Kingdom pays 10.0% duty; Germany 0.0%.
customs district
Census does not publish district detail for this classification system.
destination
Census does not publish state detail for this classification system.
entry
Census does not publish port detail for this classification system.
Trade Directory
List your company and tag the 6-digit products you trade, so the companies trading them can find you. Be the first supplier listed.
ImportsExports
Imports
$11.7MYoY · free account
Exports
$1.7MYoY · free account
12-mo low · imports
Low · free accountOver the twelve months to August 2026, the U.S. imported $155.5M of Opium Alkaloids, Derivatives, and Their Salts and exported $63.6M.
Through August 2026. Source: U.S. Census Bureau.