China will remove its two percent import tax rate on ferrous scrap and will revive its most-favored-nation (MFN) duty rate system as of January 1, according to a notice issued by its Ministry of Finance (MOF) on December 23.
Accordingly, the MFN duty rate will be zero for the items under customs tariff numbers 72042100, 72042900, 72044900 and 72045000 - stainless steel scrap, shredded scrap of other alloy steel, other shredded steel scrap and scrap ingots of steel for remelting, while the MFN duty rate will be two percent for the items under 72041000, 72043000 and 72044100, which are cast iron shredded scrap, tin-plated shredded scrap and scrap from machining.
This will end the policy of restriction on solid waste imports that has been in place since July 1. “In accordance with the development of domestic industries and changes in supply and demand, the temporary import tax rate implemented in 2020 will be appropriately adjusted. The provisional tax rate for the import of solid waste such as metal scraps and scraps will be cancelled accordingly, and the most-favored-nation tax rate will be restored,” according to the statement from the MOF.