Chinese laws restricting the nation's copper scrap imports have already materially affected the European market, Aurubis executive board chairman J? 1/4 rgen Schachler told Metal Bulletin in an interview.
"In the short term we see that this legal legislation has changed the game a bit." he said during Chile's CESCO Copper Week.China cut metal scrap import licenses issued to traders and processers by 94% in January, specifically penalizing importers of lower-grade category seven copper scrap. China's copper scrap imports fell by 52.4% year on year during the first two months of 2018, according to Chinese customs data.This move has resulted in higher-quality scrap leaving Europe for the Chinese market, Schachler said. At the same time, more lower-quality material is available."It is modifying the flow of...