Chinese Trade Association Calls for Eliminating Scrap Metal Import Tax

China¡¯s Nonferrous Metal Industry Association announced that the government should cancel the 17 percent value-added tax on scrap imports. The move will help companies cut costs as the economy slows, according to a report by Bloomberg. The cuts would include both copper and aluminum.

The government has yet to decide whether or not to go ahead with the move.

According to the report, China¡¯s industrial output grew at the weakest pace in almost a decade last month. Scrap copper imports have dropped by a third from March, customs data showed today.

"Scrap imports have shrunk so much that many traders in Guangdong have decided to take an earlier and longer holiday for the new year," said Ruan Yinan, an analyst at Shanghai Huida Investment Co., which helps import scrap metals in the southern Guangdong province, China¡¯s largest centre for the trade.

China¡¯s scrap copper imports fell to 360,000 metric tons in November, down a third from this year¡¯s high in March, according to customs. Scrap aluminum imports were 140,000 tons last month, down 38 percent from the September high, the data showed.

The association has also advised the government to lift restrictions on the tolling trade for scrap copper, Lu said. Tolling is the tax-free import of raw materials for processing into export-bound products. He didn¡¯t give details.

The association advises the Chinese government on industry policies on behalf of companies including Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd., the largest producer of the metal in the country, and Jiangxi Copper Co.

China will reinstate a 17 percent value-added tax on domestic recycled materials, including scrap metals, from Jan. 1, the Ministry of Finance said last week, adding partial rebates are still in effect until 2010.

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