Bromine is a high-volume halogen commodity produced from bromide-rich underground brines and natural salt lakes. The global supply chain is structured around three geographic clusters: the Smackover Formation brine deposits of Arkansas (United States), the Dead Sea evaporite system shared by Israel and Jordan, and Chinese coastal brine deposits. U.S. production — operated by two companies in Arkansas — is withheld by USGS to protect proprietary data, but the chapter notes that the U.S. "account[s] for a large percentage of world production capacity." The published world total (excluding U.S.) was 400,000 metric tons in 2024, led by Israel (140,000 t, 35% of ex-U.S. total), Jordan (120,000 t, 30%), and China (100,000 t, 25%).

The two dominant global end uses are brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and clear brine drilling fluids for oil and gas well completion. BFRs provide fire safety performance in electronics, plastics, textiles, and construction materials and face ongoing regulatory scrutiny in many jurisdictions. Clear brine fluids — particularly zinc bromide and calcium bromide blends — are irreplaceable in high-density, solids-free well completion and workover operations; USGS explicitly notes no comparable substitutes exist for this application. U.S. export patterns (Guyana 29%, Saudi Arabia 25%, UK 14% through mid-2024) reflect drilling fluid demand in active oil-field jurisdictions, particularly Guyana's rapidly expanding deepwater sector. Other significant uses include industrial chemical intermediates, water treatment biocides, and emerging applications in zinc-bromine flow batteries for energy storage.

The regulatory environment is an active factor in bromine demand. The FDA's July 2024 revocation of brominated vegetable oil (BVO) authorization eliminated a long-standing food-additive application. U.S. import sources are heavily concentrated — Israel supplied 83% of gross import weight (2020–23 average), with Jordan at 9% and China at 3% — but this geopolitical dependence is partially offset by substantial domestic U.S. production capacity and large Arkansas reserves (11 million tonnes, roughly 96% of the quantifiable world reserve total). Net import reliance was "E" (net exporter) in 2020–21, shifting to under 25% in 2022–24 as domestic consumption grew. Seawater, containing an estimated 100 trillion tonnes of bromine at 65 ppm, represents an effectively unlimited long-run resource; the Dead Sea alone holds an estimated 1 billion tonnes. Supply constraints are economic (extraction and processing costs), not geological.