China customs rejects 100 tonnes aluminium scrap imports from the U.S. due to import tariff

As a retaliatory move against the US aluminium and steel imports tariffs, China has taken the US aluminium scrap industry on storm and created mayhem by officially slapping a blanket of 25 per cent tariff on aluminium scraps imported from the Unites States, effective on and from Monday April 2, 2018. This tariff is applied to products under Harmonized Tariff Code 7602.00, which refers to aluminium waste and scrap.

China, being the largest aluminium scrap importer from the US, with total import standing at 958,584 tonnes in 2017, up 19 per cent from 812,661 tonnes in the prior year, is now facing a steep price hike of US-sourced metals. Accordding to Shanghai Metal Market (SMM), this may continue, as domestic aluminium scrap prices would remain high in the short term because of the tight supply.

Nonetheless, China discerns this as protective trade measure against the US.

In a release on March 30, 2018, SMM learned that only 100 tonnes of aluminium scrap could be imported from the US, as was approved in the ninth batch of approvals for solid scrap materials imports.  As a result, the first quarter of 2018 witnessed a decline in scrap import from 2.17 million tonnes last year to only 5,251 tonnes.

SMM further updated us on April 3, 2018, 100 tonnes of aluminium scrap imports from the US for recycling was rejected at the Yangshan customs in Shanghai, only due to the fact that it requires paying 25 per cent import tariffs. This casts doubt over how the new regulation would be carried out in the future.