Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has issued a decree that will ban mixed paper imports from 31 December 2021.
Slag from the iron and steel making process will also be banned from this date.
In regulation 28/2020/QD-TTg that comes into force from 15 November 2020, it said:
“The following kinds of waste may be imported as production materials until the end of December 31, 2021:
1. Recovered (waste and scrap) paper or paperboard: Other, including unsorted waste and scrap (HS code: 4707.90.00);
2. Granulated slag (slag sand) from the manufacture of iron or steel (blast furnace slag includes: granulated slag, slag sand from the manufacture of cast iron, iron, steel) (HS code: 2618.00.00).”
Mills that have licenses to import mixed paper will be able to continue to do so until that date.
However, all other paper grades including OCC, news & pam and pulp from waste paper will continue to be permitted after that date. These have the HS codes 470710, 470720 and 470730.
Plastic HS codes including 391510, 391520, 391530 and 391590 will continue to be permitted for import too. These relate to waste polymers of ethylene, styrene, vinyl chloride and other waste plastics.
However, a previous Prime Ministerial directive announced a ban on imports of plastics at the end of 2024.
