China to raise import tariffs on U.S. scrap copper, aluminum from December 15

FILE PHOTO: A worker drives a forklift past aluminum rolls at a factory in Huaibei, Anhui province, China March 2, 2019. Picture taken March 2, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer

BEIJING (Reuters) – China will impose an extra 5% tariff on imports of copper scrap and aluminum scrap from the United States from Dec. 15, according to a list of retaliatory tariffs published by the Ministry of Finance late on Friday.

Beijing had already levied a 25% tariff on copper scrap from the United States, one of its biggest suppliers, in a previous round of duties and twice hit U.S. scrap aluminum with a 25% tariff in 2018.

The tariffs saw China’s copper scrap imports from the United States fall by 80% year-on-year in the first half of 2019 to around 52,022 tonnes, customs data show, while aluminum scrap imports were down 16% to 229,837 tonnes.

China, the world’s biggest metals consumer, is tightening restrictions on imports of scrap metal, regardless of its origin, as part of an environmental campaign against foreign solid waste.

Reporting by Tom Daly; additional reporting by Winni Zhou in SHANGHAI; Editing by Paul Tait

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source: reuters.com