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(Bloomberg) -- China has issued more licenses allowing copper smelters to export metal tax-free, aiding local producers and paving the way for greater overseas sales at a time of upheaval in the global market.

China Copper Southeast Copper Co., a unit of Aluminum Corp. of China, has been granted approval to do the so-called tolling trade, the company said in a statement. Separately, privately owned Guangxi Nanguo Copper Co. has also been given permission, Shanghai Metals Market reported, without citing anyone.

The global copper market is facing significant disruptions at present, with the metal’s benchmark price hitting a four-month high in London on Wednesday. In China, the largest refined-copper supplier, local smelters have been battling to secure scarce supplies of ore, undermining their profitability, with processing fees in the industry collapsing to a record low earlier this year.

In the US, meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s signals that copper imports may soon be tariffed have lifted US prices far above comparable global rates on the London Metal Exchange. That divergence has drawn stockpiles away from Asia as arbitrage traders seeks to profit from dislocations. The administration followed through Wednesday with levies on aluminum and steel.

Two major Chinese smelters plan to ship as much as 45,000 tons for March delivery into bonded warehouses and Asian depots in the LME’s network, according to people with knowledge of the trades, who asked not be named. The volume would be in addition to their planned annual sales.

The license issuances mean that more than a dozen of major Chinese smelters have now been approved for the tolling trade, which involves exporting refined copper that’s been made from imported ore with tax exemptions.

(Updates to add price reference in third paragraph.)