Measures devised to tighten management of scrap imports

Imported scrap in Cat Lai port (Source: VNA)

The Department of Export and Import under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) said this is towards ensuring safety for the environment and sustainable and effective economic development.

Accordingly, units, departments of industry and trade, and trade associations managed by the ministry as well as groups, corporations and companies under the ministry were directed to focus on well managing the import of scrap.

Departments under the ministry are required to coordinate with relevant ministries and sectors in examining legal regulations on scrap imports, thus enhancing the management in the field.

They are also responsible for submitting to the MoIT a proposal to issue a circular, aiming to suspend temporary import and re-export for some types of scrap, while reporting to the Prime Minister on measures to strictly manage transit activities under the goods transit agreements that Vietnam signed with other countries.

The minister asked the departments of industry and trade of central-level provinces and cities to collaborate closely with the local departments of natural resources and environment in guiding enterprises to implement regulations on the import of scrap and in dealing with arising problems related to scraps imports in the localities.

Enterprises under the ministry were asked to strictly comply with legal provisions on import and use of scrap as raw materials for production, and on environmental treatment.

According to the Customs Supervision and Management Department under the General Department of Vietnam Customs, after China banned the import of 24 types of scrap, the amount imported to Vietnam in 2017 and the first five months of 2018 has increased. Additionally, some enterprises had forged scrap import permits.

Domestic companies have imported scrap from many different countries for production demand.

Remarkably, in the first five months of this year, the volume of imported plastic scrap surged nearly 200 per cent over the entire 2017.

A report from the General Department of Vietnam Customs said there were 3,579 scrap containers held up at Cat Lai Port in Ho Chi Minh City and 1,485 containers at Hai Phong Port.

At a recent press conference, responding to questions about the handling of scrap containers at ports and preventive measures for the future, Mai Xuan Thanh, Deputy General Director of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, affirmed that the department would not accept any imported scrap shipments that did not meet the conditions for environmental protection and had no clear origin.

Earlier, at a recent Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc called for solutions for the thousands of imported scrap containers held up at major seaports around the country.