By Tu Lei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-07-24 11:06

The Ministry of Commerce and China Customs yesterday jointly released a restricted commodities catalogue in the processing trade industry, according to Xinhua.

The catalogue covers 1,853 product tax numbers mainly in the labor-intensive industry, such as plastic materials and products, textile yarn, furniture, and piece goods, accounting for 15 percent of all HS codes.

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Exporters of related products are required to have guarantee deposits in the Bank of China, while registering their process trade contracts with the authorities.

The move is an effort to improve the technology in processing trade products, adjust export products structure, and rein in the export of low-value added products. It is also a bid to optimize industrial structure and relieve trade surplus, said Wei Jianguo, vice Minister of Commerce.

The nation will not approve the processing trade business of restricted commodities in the newly-built foreign-trade enterprises in eastern China, and A-type and B-type processing trade enterprises in middle and western China will still adopt the bank deposit accounting system.

Figures show that the processing trade export industry accounted for 19 percent of the country's GDP in 2006.