China imposes three-year duty on sugar imports
May 29, 2017 Category Foreign trade, Weekly
China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced the final ruling on an investigation into sugar imports, deciding to implement a three-year duty on out-of-quota shipments. China now allows 1.95 million tons of sugar imports at a tariff of 15% as part of its commitment to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Imports beyond this are subject to a 50% levy. The new ruling will add an extra 45% duty to these imports to May 21, 2018. The duty will be reduced to 40%, then 35% in each subsequent year, according to the statement. The investigation, launched last year in response to pleas by the domestic industry, found that increasing imports were causing serious harm to local producers. WTO members may take measures to protect their domestic industries from any increase in imports which causes, or threatens to cause, serious problems for local producers. The move could dent imports from countries such as Brazil and Thailand as it will close the big gap between Chinese and international prices. Chinese sugar prices are around double those on the London market. But traders said the higher tariffs will also likely spur increased smuggling across China’s porous southern border, while some imports from major producers may be shipped through third-party nations excluded from the tariffs. The latest ruling exempted about 190 smaller countries and regions from the new duty, including smaller producers such as the Philippines and Pakistan as well as Myanmar. Last year, China imported 3.06 million tons of sugar, down 36.8% from 2015, the South China Morning Post reports.
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