The government will lower or cancel export tax rebates for some products, ban their processing trade and raise their temporary export taxes, the National Development and Reform Commission announced on its website on April 30.

The move mainly aims to curb the export of products that consume a large amount of energy, cause high pollution or are resource products.

To ease pressure on resource supply, the government is already implementing restrictive measures. Since the fourth quarter of last year, items such as copper, aluminum, nickel, electrolytic aluminum, ferroalloy, steel billet have been removed from the tax rebate list.

A circular jointly issued by the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration in late April lowered tax rebate rates on some steel products to 11 percent from May 1. The rate for coal, tungsten, zinc, tin, antimony and their manufactured products was decreased to 8 percent.

The rate for rare earth metals, rare earth oxides, rare earth salts, molybdenum ore and concentrates, magnesium, fluorspar, talcum, carborundum and some timber products was removed altogether.

For Li Zhiguang, Shanghai Huaye Iron and Steel Group's export department manager, a lower tax rebate has little impact on costs, but he said worried about future industrial policy.

An article published by China Daily on Thursday confirmed that the ban on processing trade for iron and steel, rare earths and phosphorite will take effect from May 19.

In addition, the circular also said that from June 1, the export tax rate for yellow phosphorus will be raised from 10 to 20 percent, while one for ferrosilicon will be introduced at 5 percent.

(China.org.cn by Tang Fuchun May 13, 2005)