India’s ministry of commerce has sought bi-lateral government-to-government negotiations with the European Union (EU) over the latter’s proposed ‘Waste Shipment Regulation’ slated to come into force in 2027 and which is expected to choke supplies of ferrous scrap to India, Indian government sources said on Thursday, June 25.
The sources said that the ministry of commerce has assessed that, since India depends heavily on high quality scrap sourced from developed regions like Europe and the US, restrictions under EU waste shipment regulations could seriously impact availability of secondary raw material for Indian steel mills.
The Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC), an Indian government-supported representative body of industry, has also applied to the government seeking initiation of talks with the EU on the issue.
India imports about 9 million mt of ferrous scrap per year.
The Material Recycling Association of India (MRAI), in communications to the government, has also sought policy changes to facilitate imports of scrap including exemption of scrap from the proposed extended producer responsibility (EPR) obligations and removing mandatory requirement for pre-shipment inspection certification of scrap imported into the country.
