Malaysia to tighten scrap import waste thresholds

Spanish Market: Metals
01/09/21

Malaysia will formally tighten standards for waste allowed in scrap metal imports after 31 October, extending an interim grace period that was set to expire on 31 August.

The more lenient deadline will allow exporters to "make full preparation for [. . .] implementation," Malaysia's Ministry of International Trade said, citing environmental protection as the rationale.

During the interim period, which began 16 July, Malaysia started asking exporters of copper, aluminum and ferrous scrap to restrict non-metallic waste to 0.25pc of weight and circuit boards or e-scrap to 0pc.

Argus was not aware of any rejections from US scrap exporters shipping to Malaysia in July or August and few exporters were aware of any new rules on the horizon.

Only a minority of US shredders can produce a 99pc zorba package for the export market, as requested by China, and an even smaller amount are capable of making a 99.75pc package, which would essentially be the same as tweak or twitch. Zorba is a mixed metal product recovered from automotive shredding, made mostly of aluminum and small amounts of copper, brass, zinc, magnesium and nonmetallic material such as seat foam and plastic.

Malaysia during the first half of the year was the number one destination for US exports of aluminum and the number two destination for copper scrap, after China. Malaysia was the third-ranked destination for US ferrous scrap in the first half, taking 11pc of exports.

Malaysia's announcement comes not long after Indonesia, another up and coming scrap importer of US scrap metal in southeast Asia, announced it would expand its waste allowance to 2pc, going against the trend of trading partners in the region such as China and Malaysia.

By John Betz

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20/12/24

Viewpoint: Copper volatility, uncertainty ahead in 2025

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Viewpoint: PGM demand from hydrogen sector to rise

20/12/24

Viewpoint: PGM demand from hydrogen sector to rise

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US Congress passes waterways bill

19/12/24

US Congress passes waterways bill

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Q&A: Xcelsior aims to derisk minor metals investment

19/12/24

Q&A: Xcelsior aims to derisk minor metals investment

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EU HRC imports drop a quarter on safeguards, AD probe

19/12/24

EU HRC imports drop a quarter on safeguards, AD probe

London, 19 December (Argus) — EU hot-rolled coil (HRC) imports have dropped by 24pc year on year in October, as a result of the safeguards changes introduced earlier in the year and the anti-dumping (AD) probe on key suppliers launched in August. Volumes amounted to 1.16mn t. The drop was underpinned by sharp declines from Japan, Egypt, Vietnam, Taiwan and South Korea. Meanwhile, other countries stepped in to fill the supply gap, such as Turkey, Ukraine and Serbia — deemed less risky for buyers, with all ramping up their volumes year on year by 292pc, 69.5pc and 172.8pc, respectively. Turkey was the top supplier with 222,760t in October. Imports from Indonesia also notably increased, by 41.5pc on the year to 29,140t. This volume will be likely to grow over November-March, but the country is expected to no longer be exempt from the safeguard measures from April onwards, market participants said. The European Commission this week launched an early review of the tariff-rate quotas, with changes, including on the developing countries list, to be introduced from April. Import supply is likely to drop further over the rest of the year, and into the first quarter, with January the last month in which residual larger volumes from countries under investigation can be custom cleared. Sales from Japan, Egypt, Vietnam and India, all under the scope of the AD probe , have mostly stopped over the current quarter. Cold-rolled coil (CRC) imports are meanwhile on the rise, with 281,336t clearing in October, up by 33.4pc on the year and 53.5pc on the month. Taiwan was the top supplier with 64,208t, followed by Turkey and India with just over 40,000t each. The increase in Taiwanese imports, which are expected to rise further, have fuelled talks in the market of a potential AD investigation. Similarly, hot-dipped galvanised (HDG) imports rose by 60.1pc on the year to 802,688t, of which 270,226t was from Vietnam, representing a 279.1pc increase year on year. Market participants have expected a probe on Vietnamese HDG for a while, but following the safeguards review launch said that a reduction in quota volumes might hit downstream products such as HDG and CRC in particular. Plate imports have also nudged up, but more modestly, by 6.9pc on the year in October to 222,133t. Rebar and wire rod arrivals were up by 170.6pc and 46.5pc on the year, respectively. By Lora Stoyanova EU HRC imports t Oct-24 ±% Oct-23 Total 1,164,750 -24 Turkey 222,760 292 Japan 164,691 -38.2 Egypt 148,979 -19.7 Vietnam 144,512 -54.7 Taiwan 127,350 -54.5 Ukraine 103,003 69.5 South Korea 90,674 -45.9 Serbia 55,372 172.8 Australia 30,690 -62.4 Indonesia 29,140 41.5 — GTT Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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