Vietnam Ministry Proposes Stopping Imports of 13 Types of Scraps

Vietnam’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) has proposed the removing 13 types of scraps out of the list of 36 products allowed to be imported for production materials under the prime minister’s Decision 73/2014/QD-TTg dated December 19, 2014, local media reported. They are three HS codes in the groups of gypsum, waste silk, and chemical elements doped for use in electronics; seven HS codes in the groups of color metal such as Tungsten (wolfram), Molybdenum, Magnesium, Titanium, Zirconium, Antimony, and Chrome; remelting scrap ingots (iron, steel, cast iron); two HS codes in the groups of plastics wastes. These scraps are thought to impossibly be recycled and harm the environment, the Vietnam Environment Administration said. In 2018, Vietnam imported 9.2 million tons of scraps, up 14% y/y, according to the customs. Vietnam ranked second worldwide in importing plastic scraps, behind Malaysia last year. Vietnam is striving to tighten control over importing of scraps. The country will stop the import of plastic scraps for recycling from December 31, 2024, following the document 2227/VPCP-KTTH, issued by Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung. (VOV, VOV)