[SMM Analysis] When Southeast Asia Shuts Its Doors:Can the Middle East Take Over the Role of Copper Scrap Processing Hub?
Nov 11, 2025 23:23
The global copper scrap trade is entering a new cycle of restructuring. Over the past decade, the global trade network for copper scrap has been highly dependent on China. However, since China implemented the Solid Waste Import Ban in 2018, the global supply chain has been forced to reorganize, and a large volume of copper scrap has been redirected to Southeast Asian countries. By 2020, as Southeast Asian countries gradually tightened import controls, the global copper scrap market ongoing a “second phase of flow rebalancing.”