Trade issues have nonferrous scrap heading into US

The United States, a net exporter of recycled materials including nonferrous scrap, in 2025 is experiencing market factors prompting overseas sellers of recyclable aluminum and copper to ship their materials to the U.S.

“There has been a flood of recycled metals entering the U.S. owing to our outsized ‘all-in’ aluminum and copper prices,” writes Rick Dobkin of St. Louis-based Shapiro Metals in a report prepared for the July 2025 Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) World Mirror on Non-Ferrous Metals.

Dobkin says inbound material is substantial enough in volume that it is contributing to a circumstance of a “poor appetite from rolling mills” in the secondary aluminum sector in the U.S. this summer.

“Most aluminum rolling mills are well stocked through the summer, with billet cast houses still buying prompt metal,” writes Dobkin. “The 50 percent tariff on some aluminum products has spiked the regional premium and driven recycled content to these shores, as recycled material may only be tariffed by 10 percent or less,” he adds.

Continues the trader, “This explains some of the poor appetite from rolling mills, with too much metal coming in from overseas. The spreads on rolling mill feedstock have widened significantly since early in the year, while billet material has widened modestly and is in higher demand.”

In the red metals sector, copper as priced on the U.S. COMEX has risen above the metal’s price on the London Metal Exchange (LME) or Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE), causing what traders refer to as an arbitrage situation.

It is a situation likely to remain in place with the Trump administration having announced a 50 percent tariff on inbound copper that could start as soon as next month.

“Recycled copper material spreads remain wide. as most U.S. consumers buy against COMEX, which is in a significant premium to LME pricing,” writes Dobkin. “This arbitrage has emerged from the scheduled tariff on copper due to start on August 1.”

In the export markets, increased attention to cargo inspections in the Southeast Asia countries of Malaysia and Thailand are the focus of a Mirror writeup prepared for the Brussels-based BIR by Stella Ying Wang of Canada-based American Iron & Metal LP.

“Since late May, a significant number of recycling and processing yards across Thailand has been forced to halt operations as government authorities intensify inspections related to illegal waste dumping,” she writes.

Citing reports in the Thai media, Wang says the nation’s Minister of Industry Akanat Promphan “has directed the Department of Industrial Works (DIW) to suspend the issuance of new licenses to recycling factories” in several product categories.

“These categories include operations within duty-free zones, which have been identified as major sources of environmental harm owing to illegal dumping of industrial waste,” she continues. “In line with the ministerial directive, DIW’s legal division is currently drafting a formal order to ban the establishment and expansion of recycling plants nationwide.”

Wang says Thai government investigations have revealed numerous violations, including “operating without proper permits; unauthorized possession of hazardous materials; improper disposal of industrial waste; and construction or expansion of facilities without regulatory approval.”

She says the Ministry of Industry has stated that further licensing activities will remain suspended until an upcoming Industrial Waste Management Act is implemented. “The goal is to prevent Thailand from becoming a global dumping ground for recyclable or hazardous materials,” writes Wang.