<
FISH
February 15, 2000

Tariffs

  • China will reduce its tariffs from a current average of 25.3% to a final average of 10.6% by January 1, 2005.

Trading Rights and Distribution

  • Currently, U.S. companies' ability to do business in China is strictly limited because the right to engage in trade (importing and exporting) is restricted to a small number of companies that receive specific authorization or who import goods to be used in production. This limits U.S. exports. China has agreed that any entity will be able to import most products, including fish, into any part of China. This commitment is phased-in over the three-year period with all entities being permitted to import and export at the end of the period.
  • China -- which generally prohibits companies from distributing imported products or providing related distribution services -- will permit foreign enterprises to engage in the full range of distribution services. These rights will be phased in over a three-year period for almost all products, including fish. (See separate papers on distribution services and related services.)

Safeguards

  • China has committed to a strong product-specific safeguard that allows the United States to address import surges. Specifically, the safeguard allows the United States to restrain increasing imports from China that cause or threaten to cause market disruption for 12 years after accession. After that, current U.S. safeguard provisions -- Section 201 -- remain available to address increasing imports.

Antidumping

  • The Agreement explicitly permits the United States to continue to use its current non-market economy methodology for 15 years after China's accession to the WTO.

Other Commitments

  • China has agreed not to apply or enforce export performance, local content, and similar requirements as a condition on importation or investment approval.
  • To alleviate the uncertainty associated with China's inconsistent application, refund, and waivers of its 17% VAT tax, China has agreed to apply all taxes and tariffs uniformly to both domestic and foreign businesses.

Back to Top