BIR World Mirror on Non-Ferrous Metals – Issue July 2025: Policy developments yet again impacting trading activity and flows
A concise summary of the BIR World Mirror on Non-Ferrous Metals – Issue July 2025. Full version with detailed market reports available in the Members Only section of the BIR website.
The summer holiday period in many parts of the world has dampened activity levels at a time when trading was already gripped by uncertainty, according to industry experts supplying reports to the latest BIR World Mirror on Non-Ferrous Metals.
Once again, US policy shifts have been at the heart of this deep-seated unpredictability, with the latest development being President Trump’s announcement of a 50% tariff on copper imports effective from August 1. Meanwhile, the joint statement from China and the USA regarding the cutting of reciprocal tariffs for 90 days has revived trade between these two huge economies - at least for the time being.
US tariffs are having practical effects on recycling markets: for example, more imported aluminium scrap - originally destined for the USA - is now being offered to consumers in Mexico either because their US counterparts have reached capacity or because new trade barriers are affecting certain countries of origin.
In the USA itself, most aluminium rolling mills are well stocked with recycled metal through the summer, not least because of large volumes coming in from overseas. Secondary aluminium scrap prices are flat. And in Canada, recycled material flows are trending lower, with the latest five months of Purchasing Managers’ Index data revealing the steepest contraction in factory output over a five-year period.
In another trade policy development impacting material flows, many recycling and processing yards across Thailand have been forced to halt operations as government authorities intensify inspections related to illegal waste dumping, with disruption particularly affecting those facilities handling e-waste and other industrial materials. On June 5, the Thai government officially announced a full ban on all e-waste imports, with the result that many containers heading to Thailand are being returned to origin or diverted to alternative destinations - notably to Indonesia, despite questions being asked about its handling capacity and potential for future regulatory tightening.
Also in South East Asia, more buyers are gaining the SIRIM approvals that enable them to import legally, with the result that containers are beginning to clear at Malaysian ports again, albeit under heightened oversight and stricter documentation requirements.
There has been a law change in Russia too in the form of a new VAT payment procedure on semi-finished copper products. There is considerable uncertainty around how the new procedure will actually work, leading to a slowdown in the market while producers clarify the details.
Feedback from the Nordic Countries and from other parts of Europe suggests the arrival of the summer holidays has not diluted the fight for material. On the Iberian peninsula, the shortage of copper scrap has prompted local smelters to raise their percentages to secure material in the short to medium term and thereby to avoid disruptions to production, even at minimal operating levels.
And in the UK, merchants have reported a notable lack of available physical material, leading to tighter margins and to more aggressive competition to secure supplies. Certain materials, especially those affected by environmental export restrictions, have been increasingly difficult to move.
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With contributions from its members, BIR publishes periodical commodity reports under the label "BIR World Mirror". These detailed reports exist for Non-Ferrous Metals, Ferrous, Stainless Steel / Alloys, Paper, Plastics and Latin America and provide BIR members with up-to-date information on the respective commodity or market segment.
The report on Non-Ferrous Metals appears once every two months, whereas Ferrous, Stainless Steel, Paper and Plastics are published quarterly. Latin America is covered twice per year.