Government discourages iron, steel exports amid lackluster demand

Governmentdiscouragesiron,steelexportsamidlacklusterdemand

TheChinesegovernmenthasbeendiscouragingironandsteelexportsinthemidstoflacklusterdemandintheglobalmarket,theMinistryofCommercesaidonTuesday.

"China'sironandsteeloutputprimarilymeetsdomesticdemand.TheChinesegovernmenthastakenmeasures,suchasincreasingtheexporttariffsonsomeproducts,tocontrolexports,"saidShenDanyang,spokesmanfortheministry.

Shensaidthetaxrefundrateforironandsteelexportsislowerthanthe17percentvalue-addedtaxrate.Thepercentageofexports,Shenadded,isverylowcomparedwithtotaloutput.