US asks China not to implement ban on foreign garbage

The United States asked China on Friday not to implement a ban on imports of scrap materials, after the world’s top scrap buyer abruptly shut the door to many types of waste, throwing the global recycling industry into turmoil.

China told the World Trade Organisation last July that it would stop accepting shipments of rubbish such as waste plastic and paper as part of a campaign against “foreign garbage”.

The US Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries said at the time that the ban would devastate an industry that supported 155,000 jobs and had exported scrap worth US$5.6 billion to China in 2016.

The United States raised concerns about the ban, and a subsequent revision of standards for a variety of scrap metals, at the WTO’s Council for Trade in Goods on Friday.

“China’s import restrictions on recycled commodities have caused a fundamental disruption in global supply chains for scrap materials, directing them away from productive reuse and towards disposal,” a US representative told the meeting, according to a trade official in Geneva.

The United States recognised China’s environmental concerns but Beijing’s approach seemed to be having the opposite effect to what was intended, and its rules had changed far too quickly for industry to adjust, the US representative told the meeting.

China seemed to be breaching its WTO obligations by treating domestic and foreign waste differently and employing an excessively trade-restrictive policy, the US official said.

“We request that China immediately halt implementation and revise these measures in a manner consistent with existing international standards for trade-in scrap materials, which provide a global framework for transparent and environmentally sound trade-in recycled commodities.”

Trump tariffs imposed ‘because China pledges didn’t convince US’

The European Union’s representative at the meeting said China’s policy would force scrap to be diverted to third countries which may not have facilities for safe recycling, or to landfill or incineration, causing environmental damage.

The EU also questioned the science behind China’s ban, while several countries said they appreciated China’s goal but were not convinced about how it was trying to get there.

China’s representative agreed to take the comments into account but said that every country had a responsibility to dispose of its waste, and with its large population China was obliged to restrict imports of waste while cleaning up at home.

“China is seeking a path towards harmonisation of man and nature,” the trade official quoted China’s delegate as saying.

Why ‘Made in China 2025’ matters amid Trump’s trade action

The dispute over scrap comes amid increased concerns of a full-blown trade war between the United States and China.

US President Donald Trump this week signed a memorandum targeting up to US$60 billion in Chinese goods with tariffs over what his administration says is misappropriation of US intellectual property but only after a 30-day consultation period that starts once a list is published.

Trump has also announced steep tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to the United States.