Insight: Zorba at center of US scrap market upheaval

摘要

Rapidly evolving Chinese policy on solid waste imports is causing headaches among US scrap dealers and creating the potential for long-term upheaval in the market. The trade flow of zorba, the largest nonferrous byproduct of shredding, is in limbo due to China's 25% tariff on US aluminum scrap implemented on April 2, 2018. Further, there are new stringent Chinese inspection hurdles for US shippers to pass and the potential for the world's second biggest economy to ban all scrap metal imports by the end of 2020.The US-based Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) specifies zorba as a predominantly aluminum grade of scrap that could also include copper, lead, magnesium, stainless steel, nickel, tin and zinc. The specification notes that the "percentage of each metal within the nonferrous concentrate shall be subject to agreement between buyer and seller," underscoring its lack of uniformity.