Other (Charges) Gains, Net (Narrative) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2017		Dec. 31, 2016		Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 01, 2015
Other (Charges) Gains, Net [Line Items]
Commercial disputes			$ 0		$ 2		$ 2
Employee termination benefits			(4)	[1]	(11)	[1]	(53)
Asset impairments			0		(2)		(126)
Singapore contract termination			0		0		(174)
Employee Termination Benefits [Member]
Other (Charges) Gains, Net [Line Items]
Employee termination benefits					(11)		(21)
Lanaken, Belgium | Consumer Specialties [Member]
Other (Charges) Gains, Net [Line Items]
Employee termination benefits							$ (24)
Capacity Reduction Percentage	50.00%	50.00%					50.00%	50.00%
Meredosia, IL [Member] | Industrial Specialties [Member]
Other (Charges) Gains, Net [Line Items]
Employee termination benefits							$ (1)
Asset impairments							(1)
Nanjing, China [Member]
Other (Charges) Gains, Net [Line Items]
Asset impairments							(123)
Nanjing, China [Member] | Acetyl Intermediates [Member]
Other (Charges) Gains, Net [Line Items]
Asset impairments		$ (123)
SINGAPORE
Other (Charges) Gains, Net [Line Items]
Singapore contract termination							(174)
SINGAPORE | Acetyl Intermediates [Member]
Other (Charges) Gains, Net [Line Items]
Singapore contract termination	$ (174)
Tarragona, Spain [Member] | Industrial Specialties [Member]
Other (Charges) Gains, Net [Line Items]
Employee termination benefits							(6)
Asset impairments							$ (1)
Pension Plan [Member]
Other (Charges) Gains, Net [Line Items]
Special Termination Benefits recorded in Benefit Obligations			$ 1		$ 3

[1] Includes $1 million and $3 million of special termination benefits included in Benefit obligations in the consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.