Impact of Possible Tariffs and Sanctions on Scrap Markets

March 27, 2018

Market analysts and the entire scrap industry remain unsure how the US’s proposed tariffs and sanctions on countries such as China will impact the scrap markets. While we remain in this wait-and-see mode, we’ve compiled an overview on how prices have been impacted with the recent announcement.

Non-Ferrous Scrap Markets

There was a large drop in copper prices after the tariffs were put on China in late March. Falling prices can also be attributed to the large drop we witnessed in the stock market during this same time. We’re hopeful that the US and China will use diplomacy to find common ground on these tariffs and that the copper market will rebound.

Ferrous Scrap Markets

So far, with tariffs in effect, steel and iron market prices have gone up over the month of March. It’s been one of the largest increases that these markets have seen in recent years. We’re hopeful that this trend will continue well into the spring. However, there are a number of open questions and concerns about long term market effects.

We hope that you’ve found the information presented here helpful for learning more about what the impact of recent tariffs have been on scrap markets. If you have any additional questions about scrap prices or would like to discuss scrap metal recycling programs, please contact us today.