China raises export duties, cuts import duties to narrow bulging trade surplus

Mumbai: China will impose additional export duty and reduce import duties on 142 low-end products in a bid to narrow the country''s widening trade surplus.

China''s finance ministry has announced five to 10 per cent export tariffs on more than 80 steel products, including steel wires, sheets and plates. The new duties will come into effect from June 1.

The ministry said China would raise export duties from 10 per cent to 15 per cent on primary commodities, including steel billets, steel ingots and pig iron.

The move would help rein in the growth of the high polluting energy guzzlers and the export of resource products, it said.

China will lower import tariffs on 209 products on a temporary basis, including raw materials and key component parts, to encourage imports, the ministry said.

Import tariffs on coal and fuel oil will not exceed three per cent, while tariffs on imported component parts for televisions, refrigerators, and machineries will be levied at between two and six per cent.

China will also lower import duties on construction materials, electronic appliances, kitchenware, and infant food to between 6 and 17 per cent.

China''s trade surplus in April more than doubled the figure of March to $16.88 billion, damaging trade relations with its major trading partners.