China ‘considers ban on traders importing scrap copper from start of next year’
Industry website claims restrictions could come into force earlier than planned as authorities try to crack down on waste and pollution
China may ban traders from importing scrap copper from the start of next year, a widely read industry website reported on Monday.
The country is the world’s top metals user and is deepening its crackdown on imports of foreign waste and trying to cut pollution from heavy industries.
Chinese authorities have imposed tougher requirements on issuing receiver and import licences for scrap metal, making imports nearly impossible, Shanghai Metals Market reported, without saying where it got the information.
Beijing has already announced a ban on imports of some scrap metal, including copper, from the end of 2018.
Shanghai Futures Exchange copper prices hit their highest in four and a half years on Tuesday, having jumped 3.2 per cent on Monday.