The draft amendment to the Foreign Trade Law, submitted for
deliberation for the third time, is expected to be passed during
the ongoing meeting of the Standing Committee of the National
People's Congress (NPC) from April 2 to 6.
The draft amendment, which has been deliberated twice, overhauls
the current Foreign Trade Law, passed in May 1994.
During the group discussion meetings in the afternoon, most
members of the NPC Standing Committee said that the draft amendment
had satisfied the demands proposed by them in the last two
deliberations and agreed to submit it for vote at the meeting.
Individuals can also be operators of foreign trade, and some
restrictive qualifications on foreign trade operators will be
removed, under the submitted draft.
The draft adds two chapters on protection of intellectual
property and foreign trade investigations and some provisions about
restrictions on imports and exports, safety exceptions and
others.
In order to respond promptly to sudden changes in foreign trade
and provide better service to the operators, the draft also
suggests establishing an early warning system, a public information
service system, a statistics mechanism and publicity about illegal
operations.
Compared with the only punishment in the current law --
withdrawal of operation credit -- the draft strengthens sanctions
against illegal operations through adopting more severe
punishments, from criminal penalties to administrative penalties
and cancellation of operators' qualifications.
(Xinhua News Agency April 3, 2004)