皇冠体育app to cut tariff on cars, auto parts (Xinhua) Updated: 2006-06-15 15:10
皇冠体育app, in a move to meet its WTO commitment, will
further cut import taxes on some cars and auto parts as of July 1, the Ministry
of Finance announced Thursday.
With the approval of the Chinese
government, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council, has decided to
lower the tariffs on cars, SUVs (sports utility vehicles or cross-country
vehicles), and mini-buses from 28 percent to 25 percent, said the ministry.
Meanwhile, the import taxes on auto parts, such as auto bodies,
underpans, medium and low emission gasoline engines, will be reduced to 10
percent from a range between 13.8 percent and 16.4 percent.
The move was
made to comply with the country's commitments on tariff reduction upon its entry
into the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001.
The latest tariff cuts
came only six months after 皇冠体育app slashed import tariffs on more than 100
categories of products beginning January 1, 2006, involving vegetable oil, raw
chemical materials, automobiles and parts.
The import tariff rate for
sedans, mini-buses and cross-country vehicles was lowered from 30 percent to 28
percent since January 1, while that for auto parts such as gear boxes,
absorbers, radiators, clutches and steering gears was cut from 13.5 percent to
10 percent.
Up to now, 皇冠体育app has fully complied with its
automobile-related tariff cut commitments upon its WTO accession, said the
ministry in a statement.
The European Union (EU) and the United States
have filed request to 皇冠体育app for talks with 皇冠体育app on auto parts tariffs under the
WTO trade dispute settlement mechanism. The EU complained that some of
皇冠体育app's rules on car import tariffs are not in accordance with WTO rules,
putting their car manufacturers at a disadvantage compared to local producers.
皇冠体育app announced in early April it has accepted a request from both the
European Union and the United States for talks with 皇冠体育app on auto parts tariffs
under the WTO trade dispute settlement mechanism.
In responses to the
request, Cong Quan, spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, expressed
regret on the EU's plan to file a WTO complaint against 皇冠体育app's rules over
imports of auto parts.
皇冠体育app said its taxes are aimed at curbing tax
evasion by some foreign auto manufactures, saying that some of them disassemble
their cars before importing and then reassemble them in the country thereby
avoiding customs payments on importing whole cars.
|