Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2014

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Basis of Accounting, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Basis of Presentation

Certain reclassifications of prior year's data have been made to conform to current year's presentation, including separately stating Cost of goods sold and Other operating charges on the interim Consolidated Income Statements. In February 2013, the company sold its Performance Coatings business (which represented a reportable segment). In accordance with GAAP, the results of Performance Coatings are presented as discontinued operations and, as such, have been excluded from continuing operations and segment results for all periods presented. The sum of the individual earnings per share amounts from continuing and discontinued operations may not equal the total company earnings per share amounts due to rounding. The cash flows and comprehensive income related to Performance Coatings have not been segregated and are included in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows and Comprehensive Income, respectively, for all periods presented. Amounts related to Performance Coatings are consistently included in or excluded from the Notes to the interim Consolidated Financial Statements based on the financial statement line item and period of each disclosure. See Note 2 for additional information.

Venezuelan Foreign Currency Translations Policy [Policy Text Block]

Venezuelan Foreign Currency Translation

Venezuela is considered a highly inflationary economy under US GAAP and the U.S. dollar (USD) is the functional currency for our subsidiaries in Venezuela. During the first quarter 2014, the Venezuelan government enacted certain changes to the country’s foreign exchange systems including the expansion of the use of the Complementary System of Foreign Currency Acquirement (“SICAD 1”) auction rate and introduction of the SICAD 2 auction process. The official exchange rate continues to be set through the National Center for Foreign Commerce (CENCOEX, previously CADIVI) at 6.3 Bolivar Fuertes (BsF) to USD. The SICAD 1 and SICAD 2 exchange rates were 10.7 BsF and 50.85 BsF, respectively, at March 31, 2014. The company is evaluating the Venezuelan government’s recent actions affecting foreign exchange systems including restrictions, limitations and ability to obtain USD at a particular rate or through a specific exchange mechanism in relation to DuPont's in-country operations. The company continues to remeasure its Venezuelan BsF net monetary assets, which is approximately $70 at March 31, 2014, at the official CENCOEX rate.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In April 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued authoritative guidance amending existing requirements for reporting discontinued operations.  Under the new guidance, discontinued operations reporting will be limited to disposal transactions that represent strategic shifts having a major effect on operations and financial results. The amended guidance also enhances disclosures and requires assets and liabilities of a discontinued operation to be classified as such for all periods presented in the financial statements. Public entities will apply the amended guidance prospectively to all disposals occurring within annual periods beginning on or after December 15, 2014 and interim periods within those years. The company will adopt this standard on January 1, 2015. Due to the change in requirements for reporting discontinued operations described above, presentation and disclosures of future disposal transactions after adoption may be different than under current standards.