China acts to standardise management of Cu/Al imports

In order to promote the development of a high-quality recycled metal industry and to standardise the management of recycled copper and copper alloy raw material imports, as well as recycled aluminium/aluminium alloy raw materials, it has been announced by China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment that materials meeting the requirements outlined in the attached tables will not be considered solid waste and can be freely imported. These new requirements entered force on November 15.

The different types of recycled copper and aluminium raw materials are not allowed to be mixed and cannot be declared under the same customs declaration form during customs clearance. Bulk recycled copper and aluminium raw materials of different categories are not allowed to be mixed unless they are packaged independently and placed separately.

Customs commodity codes are as follows: for recycled copper raw materials - 7404000030 and 7404000050; for recycled copper alloy raw materials - 7404000020 and 7404000040; for recycled pure aluminium raw materials - 7602000040; for recycled deformed aluminium alloy raw materials - 7602000050; and for recycled cast aluminium alloy raw materials -7602000020 and 7602000030. The customs commodity number is for reference only in customs declarations.

In addition to meeting customs’ special inspection requirements for radioactive contamination, sensory inspection is first used to inspect recycled copper and aluminium raw materials. When it cannot be determined whether these materials meet the requirements of the attached table of indicators, the corresponding methods from customs industry technical specifications or national standards GB/T 38470, GB/T 38471, GB/T 38472, GB/T 40382 and GB/T 40386 should be used for inspection.

Imported recycled copper and aluminium raw materials must comply with the requirements of this announcement. If the customs authorities suspect that imported recycled copper and aluminium raw materials are actually solid waste, they can entrust professional institutions with conducting an identification process so that the materials can then be managed appropriately in accordance with the law.