Cross-border trading

Scrap trading, international: what actually changes when a border is involved

Finding a buyer or seller in another country is the easy half of international scrap trading, and it is the half ScrapTrade solves directly. The harder half, making sure the material can legally cross that border in the first place, is real, and this page covers both honestly.

KYC-Verified Traders

GPS-Verified Listings

Escrow-Protected Payments

Live Material Pricing

Seller & Buyer Support

The problem

"I can find a buyer overseas. I don't know what happens after that"

"We had someone in another country interested in a whole container of aluminium, and it fell through because neither of us actually knew what paperwork was needed on either end."

This is a genuinely different problem from finding a counterparty, and it is where a lot of promising international deals stall. The trading part, agreeing a price and a quantity, is something ScrapTrade solves the same way it solves a domestic deal: verified identity, a listing or Wanted Board match, and escrow. The compliance part, what a specific country will actually let cross its border, is not something any marketplace can solve for you, because it depends on the two specific countries involved and changes over time. What follows is a general overview, not legal advice for your specific shipment.

How it works

Trading across a border, step by step

Find your counterparty

List your material or browse the global marketplace and Wanted Board the same way you would domestically. Country is not a filter that limits who can see your listing.
Confirm the material fits the destination's requirements

Before committing, check the purity and contamination standards the destination country publishes for that material. This is the step most likely to cause a problem later if skipped.
Settle through escrow, arrange logistics separately

The deal itself moves through the same 5% Stripe-held deposit and 24-hour confirmation window as any other ScrapTrade transaction. Export licensing, customs declarations, and freight are arranged directly between the buyer and seller, typically through a customs broker or freight forwarder.

Looking for a buyer or seller in a specific country for a specific material? Post it to the Wanted Board and let matching traders respond.

Browse open requests

The basics worth knowing before you commit

None of this is exhaustive, and requirements change by country and by year, but a few recurring facts are worth understanding before your first cross-border deal.

Concept	What it means in practice
The Basel Convention	The main international treaty controlling movement of hazardous waste across borders. Clean, properly sorted scrap metal generally sits outside its strictest controls, but contaminated or mixed loads can be caught by it.
Purity thresholds	Some destination countries publish a minimum purity level for a given material, for example a high purity requirement for copper, brass, and aluminium imports into some markets, or a maximum non-ferrous and contamination percentage for ferrous imports into others. These figures are set by the destination country and do change.
Export licensing	Certain materials or destinations require an export license or permit before shipment, separate from the commercial sale itself.
Documentation	A typical shipment needs a customs declaration, a certificate of origin, and often a packing list matching what was actually declared.

This table is a starting orientation, not a compliance checklist for your shipment. Rules differ by country pair, change without much notice, and depend on the exact material and grade involved. Confirm current requirements with a customs broker or your destination country's own regulator before committing to a cross-border deal, and see our country-specific export guides for more detail on particular routes.

Why trade this way anyway

What a global pool of counterparties is actually worth

Demand is not evenly spread

A material with soft local demand can have strong demand a few countries over. Global visibility means your listing reaches wherever that demand actually is, not just your own region.

One trust layer, not a new one per deal

KYC verification and escrow work identically whether your counterparty is in the next city or another country, so you are not rebuilding trust from scratch for every cross-border deal.

You find out what's required before you commit

Checking purity and documentation requirements before agreeing a price avoids the scenario where a deal is agreed and then falls apart at the border.

Support if you are unsure

Seller and buyer support can help with listing and sourcing questions, though for compliance specifics a customs broker remains the right resource, not the platform.

Trust, and the honest objection

"Isn't this legally risky?"

What ScrapTrade actually controls, and what it doesn't

ScrapTrade controls trader verification and payment security, the two things a marketplace can genuinely guarantee. It does not control, and does not advise on, import and export law for any specific country, because that depends on jurisdictions the platform does not operate in and cannot certify. Treating those as two separate problems, rather than assuming a marketplace has solved both, is the honest way to approach a first cross-border deal.

The offer, plainly stated

What's included, what isn't, and the next step

Cost to trade	Free to list. Commission applies only to completed sales.
What's included	Global visibility, KYC verification, escrow-held deposit, and seller and buyer support for listing questions.
What's not included	Export licensing, customs clearance, freight, and legal or regulatory advice for a specific country pair.
Next step	Register, verify your identity, and list or search for a counterparty by material and country.

Frequently asked questions

Does ScrapTrade handle export licenses or customs paperwork for me?

No. ScrapTrade verifies traders and holds payment in escrow, but export licenses, customs declarations, and certificates of origin are arranged by the buyer and seller, usually with a customs broker or freight forwarder on their side.

What is the Basel Convention, and does it affect scrap metal?

The Basel Convention is the main international treaty controlling movement of hazardous waste across borders. Most clean, sorted scrap metal falls outside its stricter controls, but contaminated or mixed material can be affected, which is one reason destination countries publish purity requirements.

Why do some countries specify a minimum purity level for imported scrap?

A purity requirement is a country's way of controlling what actually crosses its border, rather than inspecting every shipment individually. It also protects the buyer, since a load contaminated below the required threshold can be rejected or held at the border, which is a real cost to whoever shipped it.

Can any registered trader buy or sell internationally on ScrapTrade?

Yes, once KYC verification is complete. The platform does not restrict listings or Wanted Board requests by country, though the buyer and seller remain responsible for confirming the trade is legal on both ends.