China plans tighter steel scrap import controls

Archiv – China’s State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) has announced plans to further restrict scrap iron and steel imports for environmentally-friendly purposes. Only those steel producers who meet pollution control requirements and industrial production standards will be granted scrap import rights, it says.China’s State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) has announced plans to further restrict scrap iron and steel imports for environmentally-friendly purposes. Only those steel producers who meet pollution control requirements and industrial production standards will be granted scrap import rights, it says.
Furthermore, steel companies looking to qualify to import scrap iron and steel will be asked to submit certificates issued by local SEPA branches covering pollution controls to SEPA requirements. An evaluation of the environmental impact of production facilities will have to be sent to SEPA when a steel company makes an initial application to import scrap iron and steel.
Meanwhile, an executive meeting of the China State Council has announced a change in industry policy aimed at better controlling the domestic iron and steel industry with a view to safeguarding its long-term health. The government is to focus on the country’s largest steelmakers and is looking to upgrade the steel sector through new technologies and improved management and production efficiencies.
According to China Daily, the recent meeting heard that China’s on-going industrialisation and urbanisation had increased the country’s demand for iron and steel products, but that excessive and unregulated investment in this essential industry risked creating an imbalance in overall economic growth, the waste of energy resources and severe environmental pollution.
China produced 270 million tonnes of steel last year – more than any other country. Some 15 steel producers were responsible for around 45% of the total output and the latest policy change is expected to result in the closure of a number of smaller mills. The new policy sets requirements for steelmakers in a number of different areas including: the scale of production and efficiency; technical expertise; energy consumption; and environmental protection performance. A raft of market measures such as tax rebates will also be introduced to promote high value-added steel production .