China to exempt Pakistan from unwrought aluminium alloy tariffs from December 1

According to an update from China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CMRA) Recycling Metal Branch, China will remove import tariffs on unwrought aluminium alloy from Pakistan from December 1, once the second phase of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries comes into effect.

Currently, China’s tariffs on unwrought aluminium imports from Pakistan is set at 5 per cent, compared to a zero rate for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries.

Consumption of unwrought aluminium alloy has also swelled in the recent times in China, given to the raw material shortages caused by a sharp decline in imports of aluminium scrap.

According to a recent data from Shanghai Metals Market, China imported 18,706 tonnes of unwrought aluminium alloy in September, the highest since SMM records began in January 2018. From a month ago, the imports were up by 16.9 per cent, while from a year, they were higher by 140 per cent.