China Inspection and Certification Group (CCIC) has been approved to be the inspection agency for exports of paper and metal to China from Russia, India, Argentina and Brazil.
CCIC has set up specific companies in each of these nations that will be responsible for inspecting “waste and scrap paper and paperboard, metal and alloy waste and scrap”.
Some in the UK recovered fibre sector believe that China has recently increased imports of pulp from Russia to make up for the fact that import quotas for grades such as OCC have been cut, and mixed paper was banned at the end of 2018.
With a continuing trade dispute with the United States, China appears to be shifting its trade emphasis to other parts of the world.
Indeed, it has also recently announced six new Free Trade Zones (FTZ)(taking the total to 18). These six new FTZs are designed to increase China’s trade with Russia, Japan, Vietnam and South Korea in particular.
China has also revealed a new and more efficient process for domestic importers to register as consignees of solid waste used as raw materials within these FTZs.
The “Separation of Licenses and Licenses” reform is designed to simplify the process under which importers of solid waste register within these FTZs and reduce time taken to inspect them.
In the FTZs, those that import solid waste, if they pass the approval process, will be able to hold a license for five years.
This could suggest that imports of paper and metals could still be permitted beyond 2020, which some have suggested is when China will ban imports.
However, the draft legislation on this said that China will “gradually reduce” imports.
During that five years they will be subject to random inspections, and must strengthen their own on-site inspection processes, track environmental quality and implement early warning and rapid response systems.
