China will apply export license management to 83 steel products from May 20, amid efforts to rein in the expanding steel exports and trade surplus, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
The Ministry has issued a joint notice with the General Administration of Customs saying that 83 steel products including cold-rolled sheets, hot-rolled steel rolls and plates are subject to export licenses. The
license system only applies in general trade.
China exported 14.13 million tons of steel products in the first quarter, up 118.4% from the same period a year earlier, according to the General Administration of Customs. The nation exported 5.38 million tons of steel
in March, slightly lower than the record high of 5.55 million tons set last December.
On April 15, China removed export tax rebates on 83 steel products and lowered the rate on 76 others to 5% in a bid to cut its trade surplus. That surplus soared to USD 46.44 billion in the first quarter of this year, nearly double the USD 23.3 billion surplus in the same period last year, gacworld.com reported.