Temporary tariffs announced to curb trade surplus and conserve energy

China will impose temporary tariffs on 110 energy-consuming export products to help curb its trade surplus and conserve energy. The policy will take effect on Wednesday, but there was no word on when the tariffs would expire, China Daily reports.

At the same time, import duties on 58 import goods will be cut. Raising the export tariff on some goods while lowering the import duties on others will "put a drag on the country's soaring trade surplus," Forbes quotes the paper as saying. China Daily interpreted the move as a sign that "the Chinese authorities now attach more importance to external trade balance and domestic industrial restructuring than merely double-digit trade growth."

According to the paper, an export tariff of five percent will be imposed on oil, coal, coke and crude oil while 10 percent will apply to non-ferrous metals, some minerals and 27 other iron and steel products.

Ten percent tariffs will apply to wooden flooring and disposable chopsticks while 15 percent will be charged on copper, nickel and other metallurgical products, it said.

On the other hand, imports taxes on a range of items, including 26 energy and resource products such as oil, coal and aluminum, will be cut from three to six percent to zero to three percent.

The policy, which is expected to control the export of products which rely heavily on energy and resources, will hopefully dampen the growth of energy-intensive industries.

The policy will also likely conserve energy and discourage manufacturers from entering energy-intensive sectors.

An official of the National Development and Reform Commission was quoted as saying that the policy is a very positive move "to enhance energy efficiency, optimize the national energy structure and rationalize energy and resource-intensive sectors."

China already has a 110 billion dollar (87 billion euros) trade surplus from January to September this year, exceeding the record 102 billion dollars (80 billion euros) surplus for the whole of last year.