The New National Standard for Secondary Copper (Alloy) Raw Materials Officially Implemented, Import Supervision Tightened [SMM Analysis]

On November 15, the highly anticipated new customs standards, "Secondary Copper Raw Material" GB/T 38471-2023 and "Secondary Copper Alloy Raw Material" GB/T 38470-2023, were officially implemented nationwide. The revision of these new standards signifies stricter customs supervision, imposing higher requirements on the quality and compliance of imported goods.

Ningbo Customs provided a detailed interpretation of the import standards, offering valuable guidance to import traders. The interpretation mainly focused on two aspects:

First, in terms of cargo quality inspection, customs will pay more attention to the surface characteristics of the goods as well as the content of non-metallic inclusions and non-metallic coatings. According to the new standards, the content of non-metallic inclusions should be ≤0.8%, and the content of non-metallic coatings should be ≤5%. Additionally, customs emphasized avoiding compressed blocks as much as possible. If inseparable inclusions are found during inspection, they will be calculated as a whole. This regulation undoubtedly increases the intensity of customs inspections on cargo quality, and stricter control and testing measures will be taken for goods that do not meet the standards.

Second, there have been significant adjustments in tariff declarations. For the import of secondary copper raw materials, if their performance indicators meet the requirements of GB/T 38471, they will be declared under HS code 7404000030 and enjoy a provisional tariff rate of 0%. However, if the performance indicators of secondary copper do not meet the requirements of GB/T 38471 but comply with the requirements of Customs Announcement No. 23, they must be declared under HS code 7404000050 and will not enjoy the 0% tariff policy, with an expected tax rate of 1.5%. Additionally, for secondary copper alloy raw materials, the import requirements for secondary brass raw materials are consistent with those for secondary copper raw materials, meaning that compliance with national standards will enjoy a 0% tariff, while compliance only with Announcement No. 23 but not with GB/T 38470 standards will not enjoy the 0% tariff benefit. Newly included secondary bronze raw materials, secondary cupronickel raw materials, and secondary high-copper raw materials will all be subject to a 1.5% tariff.

The implementation of these new customs standards imposes higher requirements on import traders. They need to pay more attention to the performance indicators and quality of the goods when purchasing to avoid additional taxes and costs due to non-compliance with customs standards. Currently, the new customs standards only impose higher quality requirements on imported goods. Most traders have indicated that there will not be a significant impact on the import volume of copper scrap, and the specific impact will depend on the actual implementation by customs.