Posted on 08/03/2017 in category Non-Ferrous
BIR World Mirror on Non-Ferrous Metals - Issue March 2017
Never a dull moment thus far in 2017
The non-ferrous metal markets have performed very well since January despite continuing uncertainty surrounding many key factors. True to say, there has not been a dull moment in the first 10 weeks of 2017.
US President Donald Trump’s new administration has certainly become the focal point worldwide. Many of his economic and trade policies are based on the “US First” doctrine instead of the globalisation mantra of his predecessors. He has withdrawn the USA from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) as well as from the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), replacing these with bilateral agreements. As a leading trade organisation, BIR was hoping not to see trade barriers potentially leading to acts of trade retaliation. However, this is only the beginning; during his speech to the Congress Joint Session, President Trump effected an almost 180-degree change in attitude, to which the Dow Jones responded by breaking through 21,000 points to reach its highest level in history.
On the other side of the Pacific, China has launched another wave of environmental protection operations under the name “National Sword”, although some have called it “Green Fence II”. Many smelters, galvanisers, paper mills, plastics manufacturers, tanneries, etc. have been forced to shut down or penalised for environmental violations. At this point, I would urge all of our members to ensure scrap shipments to China conform with the country’s environmental regulations; a single, small incident could trigger much bigger issues for all of our shipments.
As the next BIR Convention draws ever nearer, our division’s Hong Kong working group is about to finalise our programme.
by David Chiao
Uni-All Group Ltd (USA)
President of the Non-Ferrous Metals Division