Chinese exports will encounter increasing technical barriers
among major trading partners like the United States and the
European Union in the coming years because of strict new rules on
energy use and chemical content in those markets, a top official
warned.
Although it is still too early to say what kind of impact such
barriers would have on exports, they could be serious, said Li
Changjiang, minister of the General Administration for Quality
Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ).
The growing number of foreign regulations has caused Chinese
exporters to suffer huge losses, and it is conceivable that such
growth will continue in the future, Li said.
Consumer goods generally have to conform to technical
regulations and standards that set out specific characteristics for
a product, such as its size, shape, design, function and
performance. These rules can also cover labelling and
packaging.
Export products that fail to meet the standards in the markets
they are destined for will be denied entry to those markets.
Such regulations impose costs on manufacturers and exporters,
which have to adjust their production facilities to comply with the
requirements and pay for testing and certification to prove that
their products meet the foreign regulations. Even translations and
explanations of the regulations can raise costs.
A Xinhua report said about 90 percent of Chinese agriculture and
food import and export enterprises are affected by foreign
technical regulations, costing the country approximately US$9
billion every year.
Official figures also show that the Restrictions on Hazardous
Substances (RoHS) directive, which the European Union adopted on
July 1, affected more than US$60 billion worth of electronic and
electrical products exported from China.
China received 895 notifications of similar technical barriers
from WTO members last year, up 50 percent from 2002. The number of
notifications involving sanitary and phytosanitary measures reached
853, up 30 percent over 2002.
Phytosanitary refers to the health of plants and covers such
issues as plant diseases and pests.
The majority of these notifications came from China's major
trade partners, such as the United States, the European Union,
Japan, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada and Israel.
GAQSIQ has taken steps to address trade issues involving
automobile exhaust, food components, chemical residues and animal
diseases. These areas will continue to be key issues for exporters
in coming years.
Li said most technical standards are adopted and applied in an
effort to protect human safety or health, animal and plant health,
and the environment.
However, there is a risk that some countries could use technical
regulations and standards to protect favored domestic
industries.
Li said China would actively take on inappropriate regulations
through the World Trade Organization's dispute-resolution
mechanisms.
This effort has already born some fruit. Japan last month
lowered its standards for chemical residues in 18 categories of
food products, and at almost the same time the European Union
lowered standards for pesticide residues on Chinese tea from 0.01
mg per kilogram to 30 mg per kilogram. With a better understanding
of WTO rules, we will be more active in international trade
affairs, Li said.
(China Daily December 14, 2006)