Technical barriers established by foreign countries cost
Chinese exporters up to 69.1 billion US dollars last year, said a report from
the Commerce Ministry in Beijing
on Monday.
"The textile industry has been
most affected by barriers, taking up to 43 percent of the losses," said the
report. "Exports of food, poultry, wood products, electronic and machine
products were also greatly affected."
The report said the European Union
and the United States had taken the lead in setting high technical standards for
Chinese export products, followed by Japan and the Republic of
Korea.
These countries usually added items to inspection and quarantine
lists or revised trade regulations on the grounds of environmental protection,
consumer health and other reasons, said the report.
Among 22 categories
of Chinese export commodities, 18 had encountered technical barriers in 2005,
said the report.
Chinese export companies were learning to respond
rapidly to foreign technical barriers and improve competitiveness in exports,
but there was still a long way to go, said the report.
The government
started to set up centers across the country this year to analyze technical
standards for foreign market access, issuing regular reports for the government
and industries.
Under WTO rules, every WTO member has the
legitimate right to question new trade regulations by other nations within 60
days of the promulgation. However, the lack of assistance from technical experts
and the abstruseness of technical standards often frustrate Chinese companies
and prevent them from taking effective action.
One hundred technical
service centers are scheduled to be set up by 2010 to cover more than half the
country's export commodities, according to the ministry.
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