Aluminum price soars as China cancels tax incentive on exports
The export tax rebate was also removed for copper and lowered for some refined oil, solar, battery and non-metallic mineral products.
Coal-loading operations in Newcastle Port. (Image from archives)
Australian miners are up in arms against China’s new coal-quality testing system, as they claim Beijing is using it to block imports and so favour its own struggling coal industry.
The Minerals Council of Australia, which counts some of the world’s biggest coal miners as members, including BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Glencore, is leading the battle.
“The main problems relate to the variability in the testing regime, inadequate allowance for commercial remedies and the delays it is subjecting shipping to,” Greg Evans, director of coal at the council told Financial Times. “There is no doubt each of these factors adds to cost and increases risk,” he added.
Coal has traditionally been tested for ash and sulphur levels, but Chinese customs have recently begun checking imports for fluorine and phosphorus as well, as part of the country’s “war on pollution.”
According to the Australian Financial Review, some producers have been threatened with penalties, which could soon become de-facto tariff charges.
And while these new rules are not uniform across the country, the most relevant ones for exporters are conducted at China’s southeastern cities, which are the main users of Australian coal.
Coal is Australia’s second-largest export after iron ore.
5 Comments
Restless Boomers
Storm clouds are gathering.
Thomaskutty J A
THIS IS WHERE THE CCTI’S PRISTINE PROCESS FOR COAL UPGRADATION COMES INTO PLAY PLEASE FOLLOW THE COMPANY CLEAN COAL TECHNOLOGIES FROM NY USA THE TICKER CCTC
Tony K
China not playing by the rules… who could ever have guessed…Bend over Western world!
drift123
Let me guess: Somewhere in Australia their is a section called “China Town”.
The Chinese are the only people who keep in contact with the Mother Country after 5 and 6 generations. The reason is organized crime and giving trade secrets to the Chinese Government.
I know somebody is going to say blah, blah, blah, but it is true.
As far as coal, China seems perfectly happy to sacrifice 800 or so miners a year in inefficient coal production.
It is a tribute to the Western way of doing things that Australia can mine coal (relatively safely), ship the coal on rail cars to a port, load the coal onto a ship, sail the ship to a Chinese harbor, unload the ship, and transport the coal to an energy producing factory at a competitive level with Chinese coal mines.
brettles
Chinese are hypocrites ,