Breakthrough in China talks?

SANDY PARKER REPORT, VOL. 30, ISSUE 35, NOV. 6, 2006
The following extract is reproduced with permission from Sandy Parker Reports, Weekly International Fur News. Sandy Parker has been covering the fur industry for more than four decades. For most of that time he has published a weekly newsletter, detailing results of international pelt auctions, wholesale price trends, business developments and movements in the trade, as well as economic and political activities that may impact on it.
Subscribe now and receive all the latest news, either in print or electronically. Just $150 a year for 48 issues! Sandy Parker Reports, 21219 Lago Circle, Boca Raton, FL 33433; Tel: (561) 477-3764; Fax: (561) 862-7052; SParker@SandyParker.com; www.sandyparker.com
International Fur News
with Sandy Parker
Breakthrough in China talks?
THERE MAY BE A BREAKTHROUGH IN NEGOTIATIONS to obtain at least temporary relief from revisions in China’s tax policies; at presstime, there were unconfirmed reports that China would agree to a one-year moratorium. The new rules would subject raw fur imports to heavy taxes regardless of whether the pelts are to be re-exported after processing or manufactured into garments. Some 1,400 categories are covered in different degrees, the most seriously affected being those described as high-energy consuming and high-polluting products, while the favored ones include those classified as high-technology or produced by other “encouraged industries”. Fur processing is said to be classified as high-polluting.
The revised rules theoretically went into effect Sept. 15, but don’t apply to existing import permits under the old system that may not expire until as late as Dec. 15. It was not known how a moratorium would affect this. According to an earlier alert issued by the Chinese branch of a major international accounting organization, the revision raises the tax on certain imports by eliminating the refund of the value-added tax (VAT) when the product is re-exported. That category includes high-energy consuming and high-polluting products. Fur processing is considered high-polluting because of the effluents released by the dressing and dyeing plants.
IN NORTH AMERICA, THE HEADS OF THE TWO MAJOR AUCTION COMPANIES – ordinarily fierce competitors – have agreed to work together toward a solution. That alone would signify how serious they consider the situation. Steve Casotti, the new president/ceo of American Legend, said “we’ll be working very closely with NAFA (North American Fur Auctions) on this. We’ve supplied information to the International Fur Trade Federation and to U.S. government personnel in Beijing. A lot of work is being done by the Hong Kong Fur Federation to address this matter.”
IN THIS ISSUE:
Breakthrough in China Talks?
Report Moratorium on New Tax Laws
Official Word Still Awaited
October U.S. Sales Called Good
Consumer Confidence Edges Down
For extracts from back issues of Sandy Parker Reports see News Index. Subscribers can access an archive of complete issues at www.sandyparker.com.
-
For further information contact Fur Commission USA.
Home
© 1998-2011 Fur Commission USA