Recently, Japan intends to cancel the “preferential tariff system” treatment entitled to China, Brazil, Mexico, Thailand, Malaysia and other countries, which means that relevant aquatic products from those countries exported to Japan will face higher customs duty than before.
In Japan, 143 countries and regions enjoy tariff preferences. Japan’s Ministry of Finance said that China and other five countries’ economy were developing rapidly, whose export competitiveness were also gradually increasing. Therefore, it will cancel their tariff preferences. It’s reported that China’s exports of goods to Japan accounted for about a quarter of its total import value. In 2015, 60% of its imported goods applying to the preferential tax rate came from China.
It is noteworthy that China’s exports of aquatic products into South Korea shows a substantial upward trend according to statistics supplied by Ministry of Marine Fisheries of South Korea. Aquatic products enjoying South Korea’s Tariff Quota Tax rate (TRQ) are 25 categories, 82, 270 tons, among which 60% are from China. With the increase in the number of countries signing for Free Trade Zone, aquatic products imports under South Korea’s tariff quota tax rate continues to grow, especially from China. Up to now, free trade agreements signed between South Korea and 7 countries or regions, including China, Vietnam, New Zealand and the EU, has already entered into force.
Aquatic products industry is the industry with advantages in Fujian Province. Local inspection and quarantine departments suggest that aquatic products processing enterprises can actively carry out transformation and upgrading regarding aquatic products exported to Japan, like frozen sea cucumber, frozen crab meat, canned abalone and other high value-added products. In addition, it can also actively expand the export market in other countries and regions, strengthen the management of information interconnection, including the establishment of internet platform covering trading demand, sales and service, cross-border e-commerce and so on to achieve resource co-sharing.
