Segment Information (Reconciliation to Consolidated Financial Statements) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions		3 Months Ended																12 Months Ended
		Dec. 31, 2016		Sep. 30, 2016	[2]	Jun. 30, 2016	[2],[3]	Mar. 31, 2016	[2],[3],[4]	Dec. 31, 2015		Sep. 30, 2015	[8],[9]	Jun. 30, 2015	[7],[8]	Mar. 31, 2015	[5],[8],[9]	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Segment operating earnings																		$ 4,640	$ 4,243	$ 5,032
Significant pre-tax (charges) benefits not included in segment operating earnings																		(168)	(38)	434
Non-operating pension and OPEB costs																		(40)	(374)	(128)
Net exchange (losses) gains																		(106)	30	196
Corporate expenses																		(691)	(928)	(844)
Interest expense																		(370)	(342)	(377)
Income from continuing operations before income taxes		$ 353	[1],[2]	$ (56)		$ 1,333		$ 1,635		$ (421)	[5],[6],[7]	$ 227		$ 1,234		$ 1,551		3,265	2,591	4,313
Total segment net assets		20,817								22,156								20,817	22,156	23,018
Corporate assets	[10]	11,306								11,163								11,306	11,163	12,889
Liabilities included in segment net assets		7,841								7,847								7,841	7,847	8,356
Total assets		39,964								41,166								39,964	41,166	50,490
Divestitures [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Assets of discontinued operations	[11]	$ 0								$ 0								$ 0	$ 0	$ 6,227

[1] .

[2] First, second, third and fourth quarter 2016 included charges of $(24), $(76), $(122), and $(164), respectively, recorded in selling, general and administrative expenses related to transaction costs associated with the planned merger with the Dow Chemical Company announced on December 11, 2015. See Note 2 for additional information.

[3] First quarter 2016 included a benefit of $23, in other operating charges, for reductions in the accrual for customer claims related to the use of the Imprelis® herbicide. The company recorded insurance recoveries of $30 in the second quarter 2016, in other operating charges, for recovery of costs for customer claims related to the use of the Agriculture's segment Imprelis® herbicide.

[4] First quarter 2016 included a gain of $369 recorded in other income, net associated with the sale of the DuPont (Shenzhen) Manufacturing Limited entity, which held certain buildings and other assets. See Note 3 for additional information.

[5] First quarter 2015 included a $(40) pre-tax charge within other income, net associated with the re-measurement of the Ukraine hyrvnia net monetary assets.

[6] Fourth quarter 2015 included charges of $(10) recorded in selling, general and administrative expenses related to transaction costs associated with the planned merger with the Dow Chemical Company announced on December 11, 2015. See Note 2 for additional information.

[7] Second and fourth quarter 2015 included gains of $112 and $33, respectively, net of legal expenses, recorded in other income, net related to the company's settlement of a legal claim. This matter relates to the Protection Solutions segment.

[8] First and third quarter 2015 included charges of $(12) and $(9), respectively, recorded in other operating charges associated with transaction costs related to the separation of the Performance Chemicals segment. Second quarter 2015 included charges of $(5) recorded in other operating charges and $(20) recorded in interest expense. See Note 3 for additional information.

[9] First and third quarter 2015 included net insurance recoveries of $35 and $147, respectively, recorded in other operating charges in the Agriculture segment, for recovery of costs for customer claims related to the use of the Imprelis® herbicide. Fourth quarter 2015 included a benefit of $130 in other operating charges for reduction in accrual for customer claims related to the use of the Agriculture segment’s Imprelis® herbicide.

[10] Pension assets are included in corporate assets.

[11] See Note 1 for additional information on the presentation of Performance Chemicals which met the criteria for discontinued operations