ISRI Highlights Concerns Over Chinese Scrap Metal Import Policy

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) has highlighted concerns over China’s cold response to dialogue on its scrap metal imports policy. The concerns were raised in a letter addressed to the Trade Policy Staff Committee for the US Trade Representative (USTR).

According to ISRI, the Chinese authorities had notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) of its intent to introduce stricter standards with regards to imports of certain waste categories during the month of November 2017. The international body was then notified about the proposed impurity standards for ferrous and non-ferrous scrap. However, since this initial notice, the country has not notified WTO of its evolving policies on scrap imports, ISRI said in the letter.

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The lack of transparency on the part of Chinese Customs authorities has resulted in uncertainties and widespread market confusions across the global recycling industry. This has led to tremendous drop in U.S. scrap exports to China. The quota system introduced in July last year has further hampered the scrap trade flows. Furthermore, they are not in agreement with the recognized industry standards, ISRI noted.

The repeated attempts to communicate with the Chinese administration were ignored, said Adina Adler, ISRI’s vice president of advocacy.