On May 22, China announced a major reorganization of its export and import tax structure on a host of products. Export taxes were increased on 142 products, 80 of which were related to steel. Taxes were also raised on nickel, lead, zinc and other base metals, while import tariffs were cut to zero - 3 percent on 209 product categories. It appears the cuts were focused on home appliances, kitchenware, lumber, coal and fuel oil.
A cut in export tax rebates for textiles and apparel was expected to be included in the announcement. Exporters increased their first quarter exports to both the U.S. and European Union in anticipation that the government would announce a cut in export rebates effective April 1, but that did not happen. Then a cut was expected to be included in the May 22 announcement, and again it did not occur, so now the industry is wondering if the cut will be included in a future announcement or if the idea has been scrapped for now.
source: globecotnews
