Analysis: "Recycled Steel Raw Materials Standards” : When will the import of scrap steel be eased?

SHANGHAI, Oct 23 (SMM) — On October 20, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, together with  the General Administration of Customs, the Ministry of Commerce, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the Announcement on Standardising Import of Raw Materials of Secondary Copper and Secondary Cast Aluminium Alloy.

From November 1, 2020, raw materials of secondary brass, secondary copper and secondary cast aluminium alloy that meet the standards are not solid wastes and can be imported freely.

Since 2017, scrap copper and steel scrap have been classified as “foreign waste”, and the import policy has been continuously tightened. Annual steel scrap imports have fallen from 1 million mt to less than 10,000 mt.

From the perspective of import policy changes, from the partial ban on imports to the full realisation of zero imports by 2020, the changes in the original import policies for scrap copper and steel are very similar.

Looking at the process of secondary copper,  the establishment of  the secondary copper standards took place at the end December 2018. The draft was announced in August 2019, while the official standards were announced in December 2019. The relevant standards have been officially implemented on July 1, 2020. On October 20, 2020, free import of secondary copper will be officially allowed, after 1 year and 10 months from the date of initial establishment.

For scrap steel, the launch of the "Imported Recycled Iron and Steel Materials Standards” kick-off meeting took place in May this year. On October 13, the "Recycled Steel Raw Materials" national standards kick-off meeting was held in Shanghai, and preparation work has moved forward. In addition, the national standard for "Recycled Iron and Steel Raw Materials" is expected to be implemented at the end of this year. It can be seen that the process is shorter as compared to the secondary copper.

If a draft for comments can be issued at the end of this year, it is expected that the official standards will be released in H1 2021, hence the possibility of opening up scrap imports to the middle of 2021.