The charge against earnings in the period for known and estimated costs of one time termination benefits provided to current employees that are involuntarily terminated under a benefit arrangement associated with exit from or disposal of business activities or restructurings pursuant to a duly authorized plan.

No definition available.

Name:	ce_OneTimeTerminationBenefits
Namespace Prefix:	ce_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

Other (Charges) Gains, Net (Narrative) (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012
Other (Charges) Gains, Net [Line Items]
Employee termination benefits	$ 0	$ (1)	$ (3)	$ (2)
Business Optimization [Member]
Other (Charges) Gains, Net [Line Items]
Employee termination benefits			$ (3)