US exports of aluminium scrap, copper scrap to China slide in 2018

摘要

The United States’ aluminium and copper scrap export volumes toChina (including Hong Kong) tumbled in 2018, hitting 14-year and18-year lows respectively.Abrupt changes in trade policies between the US and China -including China’s aggressive restrictions?on contaminants in scrapmetal imports, a 25% tariff on aluminium scrap shipments from theUS announced in April and an additional 25% tariff?on copper scrapand other non-ferrous scrap imports from the US - severelyhampered that country’s appetite for material from the US.The sheer drop in shipping volumes to China was viewed as a starkreminder for how quickly the global scrap trade arena changed,sources said, noting that?they are still struggling to offset thereduction in China’s scrap appetite by tapping into emergingmarkets.