BIR World Mirror on Non-Ferrous Metals - April 2014

Governments should keep out of our business when it comes to encouraging or discouraging price discovery of our material through free and fair trade. 

Protectionism for whatever purpose, typically meant to promote domestic businesses in industrialized nations at the expense of those in developing nations, is wrong. It finds its way into our business by consuming entities that solicit governments to restrict, or to otherwise inhibit, the export of scrap to nations that have lower labor costs and lower environmental oversight. Developing countries, we need to remember, are indeed developing. As their economies grow, they experience higher costs of labor, increased environmental and safety oversight, and domestic competition that in time creates a level playing field with consumers around the world (...)

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