Wine imports boosted by lower tariffs

As learned from Beijing Customs, wine imports soared up this year due to tariffs lowered to 14 percent from 44.6 percent. For the first quarter of this year, Beijing imported 1.175 million worth of 1997 tons of wine, up 46 percent and 25.4 percent respectively.

China imposed an import tariff of 65 percent on wine before its WTO membership. This, plus consumption tax and value added tax, made the total tax amounting to 150 percent. The reduction of the tariff has given foreign wine an easy access to Chinese market. This in turn triggered a price war among domestic wine producers.

By People's Daily Online