The concerns caused by plans for the revision of the European Union's Waste Shipment Regulation (WSR) are not limited to businesses in EU member states. The Turkish steel industry, the world's largest single consumer of ferrous scrap, believes it may be adversely impacted by measures currently being discussed in Brussels. In early June, the Turkish Steel Producers Association (TCÜD) warned the EU against any restrictions on scrap exports to Turkey. Preventing scrap exports would create an unfair competitive advantage for EU steel producers while hitting the European recycling industry.
The focus of the Turkish steel industry organisation's criticism is a proposal of the European Steel Association (Eurofer) that stricter conditions for exports, which the EU planned to apply only to waste shipments to non-OECD destinations, be extended to shipments bound for OECD countries outside the EU as well. According to TÜCD, preventing scrap exports from the EU will lead to unfair competition with other steel producing countries, including Turkey. The proposed measures are "efforts to provide scrap to EU steel producers under more favourable conditions, namely easy access to cheaper scrap". The Turkish steel manufacturers "find this practice absolutely against the principles of free and fair trade"....
