China’s import ban on solid waste queried at import licensing meeting
Five WTO members questioned China’s import ban on solid waste, particularly for certain scrap materials, at the 3
October meeting of the WTO Committee on Import Licensing. The United States, the European Union, Australia, Canada and
Korea sought more information on which types of materials would be affected, with some noting that this issue was of
great interest to their business sectors.
The United States said it had significant concerns with the changes to import licensing surrounding China's
implementation of an existing import ban on plastic and paper scrap. The US asked whether China was planning to extend
the measure to cover ferrous and non-ferrous scrap, and if so, when this would be implemented and under what procedures.
The US requested China to adhere to notification obligations, particularly for ferrous and non-ferrous scrap, noting
that this constituted a multi-billion market for US stakeholders.
Earlier, on 18 July 2017, China had notified to the WTO that it would be imposing a ban on imports of certain kinds of solid waste by the end of 2017.
Canada said it shares the concern of the United States as the recently announced restrictions were already creating
issues for its traders. Canada said it wanted to know the specific products China intended to ban as part of the
catalogue of solid waste that will fall nchunder new restrictions.
Australia said it had similarly raised concerns over this issue both in Geneva and in Beijing. The EU also asked for
more details on the policy. Korea said it will closely monitor the measures and that it will further cooperate with
China as necessary.
China's delegation responded that it will forward these concerns to its capital for consideration.