Commerce backs down on controls for copper scrap exports

Commerce backs down on controls for copper scrap exports    The U.S. Commerce Department has decided against taking action to monitor and control the exports of copper and copper-alloy scrap overseas.
   The department made its decision after reviewing the April 7 petition from the Copper & Brass Fabricators Council and Non-Ferrous Founders’ Society, calling for monitoring and controls on exports of recyclable metallic materials containing copper.
   The department agreed that exports of copper-based scrap have significantly increased since 1999. Decreased domestic consumption, including the shutdown of the last U.S. copper scrap smelter, contributed to the rise in exports. “Accordingly, the increase in exports is somewhat less significant when it is considered in relation to domestic demand,” the department said in a July 21 statement.
   The department agreed, however, that copper scrap prices have increased significantly during the past five years. “However, the evidence does not demonstrate the existence of a shortage,” the department said.
   It added: “The evidence does not demonstrate a significant adverse effect on the national economy or any sector thereof resulting from the domestic copper scrap price increase.”
   The department did promise the domestic copper industry that it would refine the Schedule B classifications for copper and copper-allow scrap to better note the varieties of scrap that are being exported.
   The department also said it would work closely with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the State Department to address any overseas government practices that are distorting trade in copper and copper-alloy scrap.