Import Policy Shift To Facilitate Import Facilitation

The promotion of export policy is mainly reflected in the facilitation of imports, including high-tech products, energy saving and environmental protection products, consumer goods and import of agricultural products.

On May 5th, at the closing news conference of the 109th Canton Fair, the Ministry of Commerce foreign trade Wen Zhongliang, deputy director of the Department, said that some ministries and commissions are studying and formulating policies to promote imports, which are expected to be released before July.

The national import work conference sponsored by the foreign trade department of the Ministry of Commerce was originally scheduled to be held at the end of March, which has been postponed repeatedly. According to relevant sources, this meeting will face all the local commercial authorities in charge of the above promotion of import related policies.

"Stabilizing exports, expanding imports and reducing favorable balance" has been identified as the "12th Five-Year" master plan for the development of foreign trade. China's foreign trade policy is undergoing substantial changes.

New consideration of "reducing surplus"

Yao Jian, a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, said in an interview with the financial weekly magazine that expanding imports is an established policy objective, aimed at safeguarding the overall balance of the macro-economy, especially the balance of trade imports and exports. Imported inflation will not affect expansion. Imported Policy.

Yao Jian also revealed that the promotion of export policy is mainly reflected in the facilitation of imports, including high-tech products, energy saving and environmental protection products, consumer goods and import of agricultural products.

"Reducing surplus" and reducing foreign trade friction are important reasons for the government's expansion of imports.

The first time the surplus pressure came from 2007, when China's external trade surplus reached 262 billion 200 million US dollars, up 47.7% from the same period last year, ranking first in the world. The excessive growth of foreign trade surplus has aggravated the main problems of China and the European Union and the United States. Trade The trade friction of partners.

In 2007, China had hoped to reduce trade surplus through the "pressure export" way, and reduced the export tax rebate rate in many industries, but this policy made many labour intensive export enterprises overwhelmed.

Another policy intention of "pressure export" is to readjust and optimize the trade structure and promote transformation and upgrading. However, because China's export sector has provided a large number of employment, the structural transformation and upgrading has been slow and the policy has been put to no use. Especially during the financial crisis, the collapse of enterprises and the unemployment caused by shutting down have made the "pressure export" policy more prudent.

The "pressure export" policy is a fresh sample of why China's macro adjustment is always in retreat. It is also a case of understanding why China's populous country, such as a large population in China, emphasizes global consciousness when making policy decisions.

Debate on import principles

Tariff reduction has become an important means of expanding imports.

Chen Deming, Minister of Commerce, said that in 2010, China reduced tariffs to 47% of all the least developed countries' imports to China. In the next three years, China will unilaterally face zero tariffs on 95% of the products exported to China by these countries. At present, China's overall import tariff level is 9.8%.

Since the beginning of this year, rumors of import tariffs on cotton, palm oil, sugar, corn, soybeans, oil and other agricultural products have been falling. A person close to the Ministry of Commerce told reporters that the import tariff of cotton was 1% within the quota, which was not high enough. Therefore, the reduction is very likely, so that the cost of domestic textile and garment enterprises can be reduced.

Others expressed concern. The average tariff of agricultural products in China is 15.2%, which is the lowest among developing countries. Further reduction of tariffs may cause greater damage to China's agriculture.

Song Hong, a researcher at the Institute of world economics and politics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that China's import tariff structure is very unreasonable. China's disadvantaged industries, such as soybeans, have low import tariffs, so large quantities of imports are imported. Tariffs do not play a protective role in the soybean industry. On the contrary, China's machinery and equipment and transport equipment have obvious advantages, which are China's dominant industries, with an import tax rate of 39%. {page_break}

"Tariffs seem to protect our dominant industries, not weak industries." Song Hong said.

Song Hong research found that China's past import policy has three principles: can imports protect the supply of raw materials for domestic industries, whether domestic industry is impacted, and whether technological progress can be promoted. These three principles do not consider whether the optimal allocation of international resources has been realized and the welfare level of consumers has been improved.

As a result, importing policies are more prudent when importing agricultural products and paper products into resource manufactured products. The policy hopes to protect the import of bulk raw materials and high technology products, while the import of these two categories of products is always limited by foreign prices and policies.

He suggested that the formulation of future import policy should be shifted from a production oriented to a more neutral free trade mode and an expansion of imports from the perspective of national welfare. This is the guide for the formulation of import policies.

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The formulation of future import policy should change from production oriented to more neutral free trade, and expand imports from the perspective of national welfare.