Will Vintage Gear become Liquidated E-Waste?

As an individual who moderates several Facebook groups - vintage computing, old school production techniques, that sort of thing; I've noticed a new, fairly volatile discussion topic crop up within the past week.

Links to fairly alarming* articles have been shared, screenshots of failed eBay purchases have been picked apart and, as emotions are quickly stirred these days, threads devolve into instantaneous name-calling.

*Alarming to retro fans, anyhow!

I'll Have an E Please, Bob

So what's the deal? Essentially, without judgment; there's a new US Government policy that attempts to limit China's influence on rare materials like tungsten & lithium. One might think that this would apply only to exports; the restriction of items containing such materials from leaving the country, but it appears that imported items might also be affected.

X user Tech Knight stated:

"PSA: CRTs and other e-waste can no longer be exported from the USA due to a recent law, and even imports are being caught in the net. No more CRTs from Japan or elsewhere, do so at your own peril. IBM CRT from Buyee destroyed by customs."

We've not heard of any vintage synthesizers becoming "liquidated" yet, but tech is tech and no one exactly knows what criteria US customs is basing their decisions on. If CRTs are suddenly deemed e-waste, then does make "fair game" of any vintage tech based on capacitors, resistors and transistors? Many people think so.

All this talk and speculation might be an overreaction, but this information is presented in the hope that you can protect your online purchases, purchase insurance etc; if you are buying or selling from the US and the item is one-of-a-kind, perhaps consider a 3rd-party import specialist.

And to be fair to America, EU member states under the 1989 Basel Convention also apply strict criteria to the export of used electronics. Electronic equipment could be deemed to be waste, and therefore returned to the original shipper if:

• the equipment no longer works;
• essential parts, such as wires or plugs, are missing;
• the equipment has been damaged, making it obvious that it no longer works or is unsafe;
• the equipment has been damaged to such an extent that it cannot be used for its intended purpose;
• the equipment contains parts that should be removed (such as CFCs, R12 refrigerants or asbestos);
• there is no regular market for the equipment (such as very old computers);
• the equipment is being exported for the recovery of spare parts or raw materials (such as metals).

Hmpfh, no regular market indeed!

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