China Vows to Speed Up Decision on New Steel Scrap Import Standards

China will speed up the formulation of new standards for steel scrap imports, an industry group said at a meeting, amid global uncertainty over Bejing’s plan to ban all solid waste imports by the end of 2020.

China currently categorises scrap metals as solid waste, but has made some exceptions.

In January, its market regulator published new standards for high-grade copper scrap and aluminium scrap that allowed them into the country.

However, it remains unclear whether steel scrap, a key ingredient in steelmaking, will still be allowed to be imported under quotas granted for next year.