Update: China’s CMRA seeks nonferrous company registration info

The Beijing-based China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association Recycling Metal Branch (CMRA) has notified overseas recycling associations they have until Sept. 3 to apply for what the CMRA calls a no-cost qualification certificate to ship high-grade copper and aluminum scrap grades to China under its new system.

The request for information involves paper and electronic forms and appears similar to the type and quantity of information overseas companies have submitted for General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) licensing under the prior import system.

On a question-and-answer page on its website (in Chinese), CMRA says the registration information is not mandatory but that “qualified overseas suppliers will [have] priority for preshipment inspection.”

The China Inspection Group (CCIC) will remain involved in the scrap exporting process, as it was under the AQSIQ regimen, according to the same Q&A page. However, “Companies that already have AQSIQ certificates still need to reapply” for the new certificate, says CMRA.

Regarding timing for the process, CMRA initially stated, “The application time for qualification accreditation is within 20 working days from Aug. 14 (subject to the time of express delivery). The Qualification Accreditation Office shall coordinate and organize the review committee to complete the written review and onsite inspection within 50 working days after the notice is issued.”

However, the CMRA has subsequently pushed back the application deadline to Dec. 31, CMRA Director of International Communication Joanne Liu has confirmed to Recycling Today.

The additional set of obligations is unlikely to receive a warm reception from exporters in North America, Europe and elsewhere. The same scrap exporters already face an additional barrier in the form of shipping companies refusing to bring scrap into Chinese ports. The shippers site a regulation issued in April that holds them potentially responsible for financial obligations arising from a rejected shipment.