China inaugurated its first base for the research and the assessment of technical trade measures for exported tires in Dongying, east China’s Shandong Province, on March 16.
The base was jointly built by the Standards and Technical Regulations Research Center (STRRC) of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), the Shandong Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau(SDCIQ), and the People’s Government of Dongying.
The Establishment of the base is part of the key tasks set in a MOU signed by the STRRC and the SDCIQ on cooperation in technical trade measures.
Drawing on the regional advantage and the tire industry cluster in Dongying and bringing full play to the roles of the three initiators, the base will pool in the resources of the industry, the academia, the research and the political circles to mull over responses to technical trade measures related to tires.
Besides, based on information collection, assessment and research of foreign technical trade measures, the base will seek ways to effectively break down foreign trade barriers and facilitate the exports of Chinese tire products to target market. The base will play also a positive role in promoting industrial upgrading of tire companies, improving the research and application of technical trade measures and promoting the healthy development of the Chinese tire industry.
Shandong is China’s major tire producer and exporter. The province has over 200 exporting companies. With hundreds of varieties of products, it contributes half of the country’s tire output and exports. A saying goes that “To learn about the world tire industry, please turn your eyes on China. To Learn about China’s tire industry, please turn your eyes on Shandong.”
As the major tire producing area in Shandong, Dongying is home to China’s first national quality safety demonstration zone for exported tires. With a solid industrial foundation, the city plays a positive role in raising the overall tire quality to a new level.
Currently, the world economy remains sluggish, major economies including Europe and America is recovering slowly and the trend of trade protectionism has picked up. Technical trade barriers centering around safety, sanitation, environmental protection and health concerns have become main hurdles for Chinese tire exports, outweighing the traditional tariff and quota barriers.
The EU’s REACH regulation and fuel efficiency labeling rules, coupled with the U.S.’s anti dumping and countervailing investigations have largely restrained and cast shadows over Chinese tire exports.
Take Dongying for instance. The city’s tire exports reached 2.628 billion US dollars in 2015, down 26.5 percent year on year.
A survey among tire companies showed that a majority of respondents have been affected by technical trade barriers to various degrees. However, they accepted the results without making through research on how to respond due to lack of talents, limited information resources or cost pressure.
The inauguration of the assessment base will facilitate the research in technical trade barriers imposed by foreign countries and help protect the interests of the industry so that the Chinese tire exporters can have more say in the area of technical trade barriers, said Li Benhe, director of the Dongying Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau.
The base will also help Chinese tire producers break down the technical barriers and sail smoothly to the target market, he added.
It is learned that the Dongying Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau will be responsible for the daily operation of the base. It will organize industry associations, companies and experts from foreign accreditation agencies to carry out related research and assessment.
The bureau will also strengthen cooperation with Dongying Rubber Tire Association and the Guangrao County Bureau of Commerce in pushing forward the development of China exported tire quality safety demonstration zones and providing all-around and one-stop services for the international trade of tire exporters.
