The Ministry of Commerce will ban Chinese exporters from trading
overseas if they are found violating environmental protection
rules.
The suspension of trade, varying from one year to three years,
punishes companies that discharge excessive pollutants or seize
environmental resources illegally.
Some exporters have ignored the country's regulations on
environmental protection while striving for lower costs, according
to a notice jointly issued by the commerce ministry and the State
Environmental Protection Administration.
The notice urged local environmental watchdogs to strengthen
supervision over exporting companies, especially those that consume
too much energy and resources, such as copper melting, and report
violations to local commerce administrations.
The commerce ministry, based on reports from local environmental
watchdogs, will authorize local departments to cease the approval
of export-related applications, such as export quota and license,
contract on processing, and application for participating in
national or regional trade fairs, of violating companies.
The applications would be processed only when local
environmental watchdogs confirmed that corrections had been made in
these companies, according to the notice.
(Xinhua News Agency October 13, 2007)
