Commenting on the cancellation of tax rebates on products covering 406 tariff item numbers, a Ministry of Commerce official said that the tariff item numbers for which rebates were cancelled covered only three percent of all tariff numbers. In 2009, products including the 406 tariff item numbers indicated an export volume of $11 billion, just one percent of the total export volume in 2009. The cancellation of the tax rebate may have an impact in the short term, but will not cause a massive decrease in exports, and it will not change the development policy of Chinese foreign trade, the official said.
The MOC official stressed that the aim of the rebate cancellation is for energy saving and emissions reduction purposes, adding that the cancellation is in line with national policy to adjust industrial structure and improve foreign trade development.