China customs nabs 245 in $750 million steel scrap smuggling ring 8 SHARES Share it! Share TweetBy ReutersChina’s customs authority has arrested 245 suspects involved in smuggling scrap and waste steel valued at 4.8 billion yuan ($750 million) out of the country, it said on Wednesday. But customs has also targeted smugglers trying to avoid tariffs as high as 40 percent by sneaking high-value steel scrap and waste out of China, mainly to Southeast Asia. Officials discovered a total of 2.41 million tonnes of scrap and waste steel material had been undervalued in customs declarations as traders tried to circumvent the tariff. Chinese exports of scrap steel surged to 2.2 million tonnes last year, up from just 1,000 tonnes in 2016.

Source: Manila Bulletin June 06, 2018 03:00 UTC