Joint Appeal Lodged for Restricting Tinplate ImportationEight major tinplate enterprises from Shanghai, Hubei, Guangzhou, Jiangsu, Fujian and Hainan have lately submitted a petition to the government department concerned for a restraint on the tinplate importation.The China Tinplate Industry Association called a brief meeting in Beijing Monday, January 15, claiming that due to the unfairly cheap sales of the imported tinplate and a sharp increase in imports, the national tinplate industry had suffered serious losses. According to Customs statistics, China saw sharp increase of tinplate imports last year from the ROK, CIS countries, Europe and Australia, a 50 percent up than the previous year, taking up around 40 percent in domestic market. These Chinese enterprises used to boast of the world most advanced tinplate production, but the steep rise of the imports caused by cheap sales priced an average 30 percent lower than the domestic products triggered off a sharp downturn of their production and entailed an operation in red. The country has suffered and will have to suffer huge losses as a result given the free reign without proper counter-measures to be taken, said an official with the China Tinplate Industry Association. It is reported that, of China's iron and steel products tinplate is the only one that has formed a system of its own and is sufficient for self-supply in terms of equipment and capability and quality in production. The petition was submitted to the State Economic and Trade Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) according to Article 29 of the Law of the PRC on Foreign Trade and relevant WTO clauses. The action is not aimed at building up trade barriers but to protect the domestic enterprises for a fair competition, as they are capable of manufacturing high-quality tinplate products of any specifications and varieties, the eight enterprises declare solemnly. By PD Online staff member Li Heng |
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