Washington, DC -- Kelley Drye’s international trade section, led by David Hartquist, filed a petition today for clients, Copper and Brass Fabricators Council, Inc. and the Non-Ferrous Founders’ Society. The petition points to a rising demand for copper scrap and copper-alloy scrap in China as responsible for the excessive drain of the scarce metals materials and the resultant price increases and shortages in the U.S. market. The petition contends that the rapid increase in exports of the subject metals is the primary cause of dwindling domestic supply and sharp price increases in recent years.

“Our clients are particularly hard hit by the lack of supply of copper and copper-alloy scrap metals,” explained Hartquist. “China’s escalating consumption of these products violate U.S. trade laws, causing the U.S. brass mill industry and brass and bronze foundries to face unmerited hardships.”

China–with its explosive growth, insatiable demand for scrap, and high prices that Chinese purchasers are willing to pay to source U.S. scrap–is targeted as the major global culprit in this supply and demand tight spot. According to the petition, essentially all of the growth in U.S. exports of copper-based scrap in recent years has been attributable to rising consumption in China.

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Kelley Drye’s Washington, DC office solves competitive problems for Fortune 500 companies, privately held corporations, government entities, and trade associations in the U.S. and abroad. The firm has over 100 attorneys and professionals practicing in the following areas: Advertising and Marketing, Antitrust and Competition, Technology, Environmental, Government Relations and Public Policy, Intellectual Property, International Trade, Litigation, and Trade Associations.

Kelley Drye Files Short Supply Petition for U.S. Metals Industries