specialty crops

Specialty Crops

February 9, 2000

Tariffs

China is committing to establish a "tariff-only" import regime; all non-tariff barriers will be eliminated. Any other measure, such as inspection, testing, and domestic taxes must be applied in a manner that is consistent with WTO rules requiring a transparent and non-discriminatory system.

Tariff concessions on some key commodities that China will phase in by 2004 include the following:

Vegetables
	Current Tariff (%)	Tariff in 2004 (%)
Lettuce Cauliflower Broccoli Celery Frozen sweet corn Frozen vegetable mixtures Canned sweet corn Canned tomato paste Tomato ketchup	16 13 13 13 13 13 25 25 30	10 10 10 10 10 10 10 20 15


Nuts
	Current Tariff (%)	Tariff in 2004 (%)
Shelled almonds and hazelnuts Pistachios Shelled and canned walnuts Other canned nuts	30 35 30 30	10 10 20 13

Citrus

Current Tariff (%) Tariff in 2004 (%)

Oranges
Lemons
Grapefruit
Frozen orange
     juice concentrate
Grapefruit juice 40
40
40
35

35 12
12
12
15

15



Other Fruits

Current Tariff (%) Tariff in 2004 (%)

Apples
Pears
Cherries
Fresh peaches
Canned peaches
Other jams and jellies
Plums
Raisins
Grapes
Wine
Other fruits and nuts
Grape juice
Fruit juice mixtures
Water-based drinks
     with sugar
Other water-based drinks 30
30
30
30
30
30
40
40
40
65
30
35
35
65

50 10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
13
20
20
20
20
20

35

Other Products

Current Tariff (%) Tariff in 2004 (%)

Hop cone pellets
Hop extracts
Ginseng
Yellow grease
Sweet biscuits
Soup
Cigarettes
Tobacco 30
20
40
40
25
45
65
40 10
10
10
10
15
15
25
10

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, excluding tobacco, 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, excluding tobacco. (See separate papers on distribution services and related services.)

Export Subsidies

China will eliminate export subsidies for agricultural products when it joins the WTO, benefiting U.S. agricultural products competing in third-country markets.

Anti-dumping

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. (See specific paper on this protocol issue.)

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. (See specific paper on this protocol issue.)

Domestic Support

China committed to cap and reduce trade-distorting domestic subsidies; specific levels will be determined through multilateral negotiations.

Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures

China committed to fully abide by the terms of the WTO Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, which requires that all animal, plant, and human health import requirements be based on sound science.

Last modified: Thursday, October 14, 2004 PM


Citrus
	Current Tariff (%)	Tariff in 2004 (%)
Oranges Lemons Grapefruit Frozen orange juice concentrate Grapefruit juice	40 40 40 35 35	12 12 12 15 15

*Other Fruits*
	Current Tariff (%)	Tariff in 2004 (%)
Apples Pears Cherries Fresh peaches Canned peaches Other jams and jellies Plums Raisins Grapes Wine Other fruits and nuts Grape juice Fruit juice mixtures Water-based drinks with sugar Other water-based drinks	30 30 30 30 30 30 40 40 40 65 30 35 35 65 50	10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 13 20 20 20 20 20 35

*Other Products*
	Current Tariff (%)	Tariff in 2004 (%)
Hop cone pellets Hop extracts Ginseng Yellow grease Sweet biscuits Soup Cigarettes Tobacco	30 20 40 40 25 45 65 40	10 10 10 10 15 15 25 10