Chinese exporters may see their production costs rise by five to
ten percent, if a new policy to force them to abide by
environmental protection rules comes into force, said an official
from the Ministry of Commerce (MOC).
The MOC has issued a notice that exporters would be banned from
trading abroad for one to three years if they were found violating
environmental protection rules.
Exporters would pay extra for discharge facilities and
environmental testing, MOC official Chen Guanglong said on
Monday.
Some exporters have ignored the country's regulations on
environmental protection while striving for lower costs, according
to the notice jointly published by the MOC and the State
Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA).
Analysts said they were the most severe measures the MOC had
adopted to crack down on environmental violations in the last four
years.
The MOC would authorize local departments to stop approving
export-related applications, such as export quotas and licenses,
contracts for processing, and applications for participating in
national or regional trade fairs, of violating companies, based on
reports from local environmental watchdogs.
The applications would be processed only when local
environmental watchdogs confirmed that corrections had been made in
these companies.
The punitive measures were targeted at five sectors, including
metal processing, chemicals, cements, textiles, and the light
industry, said Chen, as these sectors accounted for 80 percent of
the country's energy consumption.
Under the pressure of higher costs, some small and medium-sized
enterprises would face closure, Chen said.
The ministry would soon launch a special inspection of the
enforcement of environmental rules in exporting enterprises, said
Chen.
(Xinhua News Agency October 22, 2007)
