According to the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) press release, BIR was informed of an official CCIC North American Notice that temporarily stops CCIC North America from processing applications and issuing certificates for pre-shipment inspection on scrap materials exported from USA to China. The suspension is for a one-month period ending June 4, 2018, inclusive. The Pre-Shipment Inspection (PSI) system is also temporarily closed.
Certificates issued by CCIC North America prior to 3 May 2018 inclusive can still be used for port declaration but will be subjected to 100 percent inspections.
While this suspension is for non-ferrous products and does not affect ferrous scrap material, sources close to SteelOrbis warn of the potential disruption in cargo flows, probable premium prices on the same products from other locations, and the ‘serious ramifications’ to the US non-ferrous industry. An export source noted, “Cargoes in transit may fail pre-inspection not on the basis of the opinion of an inspector with metallurgical knowledge but just on someones subjective terms.” The source expects much product to be returned the US. He also added that the lack of export placement by some US entities may “affect their financial position” as many produce and sell both ferrous and non-ferrous materials.