New EU regulation on aluminum imports creates more bureaucracy, say traders

A new EU regulation to monitor aluminum imports, which went into effect at the end of April, will create more bureaucracy, according to market sources.
Under the new legislation, participants will have to register the metal to the customs authorities and get a certificate. The process can take from five to eight days until people are able to clear the metal, sources said.
“It’s not really a game-changer,” a trader said. “It’s just more bureaucracy on top of the warehouses taking ages, just more small costs.”
A second trader said: “The EU wants to have a forward view on what’s coming into the continent.”
“It’s because of the section 232 and the US tariffs, they are trying to check if more metal is coming from overseas and particularly China to Europe,” he added.
However, most market sources agreed that it was an unnecessary measure as EU customs authorities already could check the material entering into the continent.
“It’s just to show that they are trying to do something,” a third trader said.
Costs per document were heard to vary from $50 up to $170, according to market sources, but the cost should not be significant for the clearance of large clips.
“If you want to clear 50-100 mt then the cost will be significant but if you want to clear 1,000 mt or above then it should not be that important,” the second trader said.
The main issue will be with very prompt deliveries, meaning when buyers request metal for next week — as you will have to have metal in your possession already cleared otherwise it will take more than a week to deliver, sources said.
The EU said April 26 it had announced a surveillance system for imports of aluminium products “in response to the new US import tax of 10% announced on March 8 and the potential diversion of trade to the EU market…[to] allow the EU to closely monitor import trends in aluminium…It will however allow the EU to anticipate any trade surges and, if necessary, allow the Commission to act in a timely and WTO-compatible manner to prevent economic damage for EU producers.”
Source: Platts
Yaang Pipe Industry Co., Limited (www.yaang.com)