Sino-US trade war having little impact on China’s recycling industry

US taxation plans regarding US$ 200 billion worth of Chinese products are still creating uncertainties and various short-term effects on the financial markets, and China will take corresponding measures to reduce the negative impact.

On March 23 this year, the US administration implemented tariffs of 25% and 10% on, respectively, imported steel and aluminium. Then on June 16, China’s Ministry of Commerce issued the “Announcement on Adding Tariffs to Certain Goods Originating from the United States”, outlining retaliatory counter-measures which are the same as the US tax rate for Chinese goods and equivalent to a 25% tariff.

The Sino-US trade war may have a certain negative impact on China’s economic development and on international trade, but it is within an acceptable range for China. Although the issue will require close monitoring, this trade war is having little impact on China’s recycling industry because it involves only “aluminium for recycling”, Chinese imports of which have fallen from 2.59 million tons in 2012 to 2.17 million tons in 2017.

A far more significant impact on the recycling industry will be felt from China’s new policy to achieve zero imports of recyclable solid waste by 2020.