On February 25 this year, the Jiangsu Provincial Laver
Association submitted a request to the Ministry of Commerce to
investigate the legitimacy of Japanese quotas on laver imports.
Laver is edible seaweed.
The inquiry will run for six months and can be extended for
another three months.
It is the first such investigation in China since the Ministry
of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, which merged with the
Ministry of Commerce last March, issued a temporary rule on
investigations into other countries' trade barriers in September
2002.
If it is decided that barriers do exist, the ministry will
resolve the problem through bilateral negotiations or submitting
the matter to the multilateral dispute settlement body under the
World Trade Organization.
Its report will be made public.
Wang Tingzhu, vice chairman of the Jiangsu Provincial
Association of Laver, which represents 107 members, welcomed the
ministry's decision, saying the discriminatory Japanese practice
can no longer be tolerated.
"We have been barred from exporting to Japan for years because
Japan only gives import quotas for laver to South Korea," Wang
said.
Imports of laver, a major component of the Japanese diet, are
controlled by a quota system. Japan is the largest consumer of
laver in the world.
Wang said Japan's stance is hard to understand as China's laver
is similar in quality and production methods to South Korea's.
Members of the association produce more than half of the laver
in China.
Shen Sibao, a trade expert from the University of
International Business and Economics, said the investigation
will help China improve its trade environment as its products face
increasing barriers globally.
"The first investigation, although about a year after the rule
on investigations was issued, will assist other industries
suffering from rising trade barriers," she said.
Shen stated that China is pursuing a more aggressive stance in
trade rather than being dictated to by others, noting that the
Foreign Trade Law, in its revision this month, added a new chapter
about investigating alleged unfair trade practices, Shen noted.
Trade barriers often rely on technical standards, quarantine,
quality inspection and customs procedures, and intellectual
property rights protection.
(China Daily April 22, 2004)