CHINA'S tariffs on imported cars will be lowered to between 15 and 20 per cent in three to five years once it rejoins the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
Liu Dexing, deputy commissioner of the Corporate Management Department of China Automotive Trade Corp (CNATC), said at a seminar yesterday that it was a general trend to lower the tariffs on imported cars whether China was able to re-enter GATT this year or not.
He quoted informed sources as saying the tariffs on imported cars were expected to be lowered to between 15 and 20 per cent by 1998-2000.
Early this year, the Chinese Government announced an average tariff reduction on imported cars to 110 per cent.
From July 1, it abolished the non-tariff licence of imported cars by foreign enterprises. These measures were taken as a run-up to its readmission to GATT.
The production of China's car industry was estimated to reach 1.35 million to 1.4 million units this year, although the sales were expected to touch about 1.02 million to 1.03 million units, said Mr Liu.
The import volume during 1994 is expected to decrease from 320,000 last year to 200,000, with more than 100,000 being sedans.