China will impose export duties on some aluminum products from
Aug. 1 in a bid to reduce energy consumption and pollutant
emissions, according to the Ministry of Finance (MOF).
The government will levy a 15-percent export tariff on non-alloy
aluminum rods and poles and scrap the five percent import duty on
electrolytic aluminum, the MOF announced on Thursday.
It said the move aimed to "further restrict exports of high
energy-consuming and polluting resources products and encourage
imports of raw materials".
This is the latest measure to rein in rapid growth in the high
energy-consuming and polluting industries, including metals. The
government has already announced rises in the resources taxes on
lead, zinc, copper and tungsten ore by three to 16 times from
Aug.1.
Industrial output of the sectors, including metals, power,
steel, oil refining, chemicals and construction materials, grew
20.6 percent in the first quarter, 6.6 percentage points higher
than the same period last year.
The six sectors consume 70 percent of the nation's energy for
industry and release the same percentage of sulfur dioxide.
The government has set the target of reducing energy consumption
per unit of gross domestic product by 20 percent and major
pollutant emissions by 10 percent by 2010.
Energy consumption per unit of GDP fell by 1.33 percent
year-on-year in 2006, only one third of its four-percent target,
Xie Fuzhan, head of the National Bureau of Statistics, said on July
12.
The aluminum sector expanded has rapidly in recent years despite
a series of macro-control measures. In the first five months, the
output of alumina surged 55.4 percent over the same period last
year to 7.62 million tons and that of electrolytic aluminum jumped
36.1 percent to 4.68 million tons.
Sources with the MOF said the move followed the large-scale
scrapping or cutting of export tax rebates for 2,831 commodities
from July 1 aimed to curb the growth of energy-consuming industries
and reduce the nation's rising trade surplus, which hit US$112.5
billion in the first half of 2007, an increase of 83 percent from
the same period last year.
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(Xinhua News AgencyJuly 20, 2007)
