Let's see now. China is grabbing ever more of the global industrial base, and more especially the US industrial base. China is expanding its military capability - rapidly. And China is starting to rattle the sabre more. There are parallels between the Japanese buying lots of scrap metal before WWII and China buying same today.
Nope, nothing to see here. China is our friend. No problems. Nope, nope, nope. Move along... (/bitter sarcasm)
(South Korean) Government to Restrict Exports of Scrap Iron, Steel Bars
March 4, 2004
Government Information Agency
The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy decided to temporarily suspend exports of scrap iron and steel bars Wednesday (March 3) to ease a worsening domestic shortage of raw materials.
The ministry together with other government ministries will also clamp down on speculative stockpiling of scrap iron and other raw materials.
According to the ministry, the international prices of non-ferrous metals such as aluminum, electrolytic copper and nickel and major metal materials have been on the rise steadily and the trend is expected to continue for the time being.
Lee Hee-beom, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy, said, ¡°In terms of non-ferrous metals, it is unlikely to experience a supply shortage in spite of price rises, but with regard to scrap iron and steel bars, we expect that the raw material supply shortage will continue for some time.¡±
The ministry has activated a task force to monitor daily changes in raw material prices and to swiftly draw up effective countermeasures to absorb any shock.
As for steel bars, local steel makers agreed to divert a total of 67,000 metric tons from export to domestic supply to stabilize the local market.
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