The long-term impact of China renaming scrap metal as renewable material remains to be seen, sources said, citing a potential increase in scrap exports from the United States to the Asian nation, although China's scrap import quota system will continue through 2020.
The impact of China restricting scrap imports was felt keenly in the US for much of 2019, which saw an oversupplied market with soft domestic demand and sellers struggling to move metal. Looking ahead, sources said the true significance of China renaming high-purity non-ferrous scrap as recyclable materials for the US market will be apparent only if it translates to an increase in scrap exports from the US to China.The effect of an oversupplied market...