Published by:Malvick Ong<>
30 May 2025 @ 12:00 UTC
Concerns surrounding tariffs and potential restrictions on ferrous and non-ferrous scrap exports from US and Europe dominated discussions at the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) World Recycling Convention & Exhibition held in Valencia, Spain on May 26-28.

Several market participants expressed concerns about the disruptions caused by US tariffs, while European policymakers have been considering tightening scrap export regulations on the grounds of environmental responsibility and circular economy goals.
Several industry leaders and market participants in the recycling sector have warned that such restrictions by the EU could disrupt international material flows.
EU restrictions The EU has announced a slew of regulations impacting scrap exporters recently, some of which were highlighted in this year’s BIR Conference.
On the European Steel and Metals Action Plan published in March, Emmanuel Katrakis, director of public and regulatory Affairs at Belgian recycler Galloo, said the intention was to keep scrap in Europe and to make sure of its availability.
Previous news reports that the European Commission was supposedly weighingexport duties of up to 25% on scrap metal lead to fears amongst recyclers. Katrakis said that meetings were ongoing in Brussels, and greater clarity on trade measures was expected to be announced by the third quarter of this year.
The EU also revamped its Waste Shipment Regulation (WSR) in May 2024, which aims torestrict exports of scrap metal classified as waste to non-country members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Export rules will come into force by May 2027.
The Commission confirmed that 24 nations outside of the OECD submitted applications to continue receiving non-hazardous EU waste in compliance with the revamped WSR. A decision is expected by November 2026.
Worries in India Any restrictions on exports of EU-origin scrap is expected to have serious implications for Indian importers due to the country’s large and growing demand for recycled materials.
India was among the 24 nations applying to keep receiving EU scrap metals defined as “waste” under the WSR and now faces a nail-biting wait to find out its fate.
Dhawal Shah of major Indian trading firm Metco Ventures said in his panel discussion in Valencia that there is a 10 to 15-year runway before India has enough domestic scrap materials from its recycling.
With the Indian government pushing ahead with its National Steel Policy and a target of 300 million tonnes of steel production by 2030, India is poised to remain a net importer of high-quality scrap for the next 10-15 years, Fastmarkets understands.
India was the largest importer of European aluminium scrap, the second-largest buyer of EU copper scrap and the third-largest importer of EU ferrous scrap in 2024.
The BIR and the European Recycling Industries’ Confederation (EuRIC) and have repeatedly said thatthe WSR policy would restrict the export of scrap, hampering collection volumes and damaging the economic viability of the industry.
Given the rise in Indian non-ferrous scrap import demand and the market’s growing influence on producer markets in the West,Fastmarkets launched a suite of CIF India aluminium scrap prices in April 2024.
Fastmarkets’ price assessment foraluminium scrap, extrusions (Tata), 6063, cif Indiawas $2,320-2,350 per tonne on Wednesday May 28, increasing from $2,250-2,300 on April 30.
Lee Allen in London contributed to this article.