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CHINA INTRODUCES NEW SAFETY LICENSE SYSTEM
 
BEIJING - The government of China has introduced a new safety license system.  The new compliance mark supercedes the "Great Wall" and "CCIB" mark.  Now  manufacturers selling to China only have to apply to one agency and apply for one mark.  The new system requires manufacturers in 132 product categories to obtain the China Compulsory Certification (CCC) mark before exporting to or selling in the China market. The new system, implemented last year and fully effective August 1 will impact many importers across a wide range of manufacturing sectors.  Products not meeting CCC requirements may be held at the border or port by Chinese Customs and will be subject to other penalties. When China negotiated the terms of its World Trade Organization (WTO) membership in the late 1990s and through 2001, it acknowledged that there were problems in their existing system and agreed to merge its two certification regimes into a single unified system, with equal treatment for domestic products and imports. US exports to China totaled $22 billion last year, up 27% over the previous year. Chinese exports to the US climbed by 35% during the same period, according to the US Department of Commerce.

VIETNAM REDUCES TAX BREAK FOR FOREIGN CAR MAKERS

HANOI - Vietnam's National Assembly has voted to reduce a tax break for the country's 11 joint-venture car assemblers, a government official has told the Associated Press.The change could agitate the country's fledgling automotive industry. The country currently levies a 100% special tax on passenger cars. However, Vietnam's 11 car assembly joint ventures - which include Toyota, Ford, Mitsubishi and Isuzu - have been enjoying a 95% break on that tax. Under the revised law, which takes effect at the beginning of next year, the tax break will be reduced to 70% in 2004, 50% in 2005, 30% in 2006, and then will be completely eliminated in 2007, said an official at the National Assembly's Office. But over the same period, the tax itself will be reduced from the current 100% to 80% in 2004, and finally to 25%. A spokeswoman for the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers' Association, which represents the joint ventures, said she would not comment until the organization obtains a copy of the revised law. Last year, the joint ventures sold 26,872 vehicles, an increase of 37.4% from 2001, according to the association. In the first four months of this year, 10,094 vehicles were sold, up 36% from the same period last year, it said.

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