abstract
Green trade barrier has become one of the effective trade protection means in the field of international trade because of its superficial rationality and concealment. Starting with the concept and causes of green trade barriers, this paper studies the role and influence of green trade barriers, that is, from a national perspective, it not only plays a positive role in a country's environmental protection, safeguarding people's safety and health, promoting new product development and technological creation, and improving its own environmental system, but also hinders a country's foreign trade development and restricts the economic growth of backward countries. At the same time, it comprehensively analyzes the importing countries under the condition that various factors of green trade barriers play the same role. Finally, in view of the increasing green trade barriers faced by China's export trade, this paper puts forward some countermeasures and suggestions that can be taken in China's foreign trade field.
Keywords: green trade barriers, green barriers
abstract
Green trade barrier has become one of the most effective trade protection means in the current international trade field because of its superficial rationality and concealment. This paper studies the causes of green trade barriers from positive aspects (such as environmental protection, invention and innovation of new products or technologies, environmental system construction, etc.) and negative aspects (such as hindering international trade and GDP growth, etc.), and analyzes the nature of green trade barriers. The mechanism of its properties in several cases is also expounded. Finally, in view of the present situation that China's export trade is increasingly encountering green trade barriers, this paper puts forward some countermeasures and suggestions that China should adopt in its foreign trade.
Keywords: green trade barriers
I. Overview of Green Trade Barriers
1, the concept of green trade barriers
Under the background of the increasingly obvious trend of international economic integration, international trade, as one of the main driving forces of international economic integration, has achieved unprecedented development, and economic and trade exchanges between countries have become more frequent and close. At the same time, the trade competition among countries has reached a white-hot level. In order to protect their industries and markets, some countries have adopted a series of trade restrictions, among which green trade barrier is the most frequently used one in developed countries since 1990s, and it is also one of the main trade barriers in the international trade field today.
With the continuous development of technical barriers to trade, green barriers (GBS) have become an important part of technical barriers to trade. In fact, there is no word "green barrier" in international literature, and green barrier is also called environmental barrier. "Green barrier" can be said to be a new word created by China himself. There is no authoritative definition in the world. The concept of green barrier put forward by some scholars in China is mostly put forward from the standpoint of economic interests of developing countries, which has a certain one-sidedness. In my opinion, green barriers refer to measures taken directly or indirectly to restrict or even prohibit trade in order to protect the ecological environment. Generally speaking, green barrier refers to a kind of technical trade barrier that has an impact on import and export trade. It is set up by various environmental protection measures, laws and standards by import and export countries to protect their own ecological environment and public health. ①
2. Background of green trade barriers.
The emergence of green barriers is the inevitable product of international environmental protection demand and international trade development. From the international background, the following factors have promoted the emergence and development of green barriers.
(1) Global environmental problems make environmental protection a global voice. After World War II, while the economies of various countries grew rapidly, the global environmental problems became increasingly serious. When the ecological environment reached its limit, it began to take terrible revenge on mankind. Every minute, 28 people in the world die from environmental pollution, and150,000 people die every year. 800 million people get sick from drinking polluted water, and 25,000 people die every day. Facing the increasingly severe retaliation from the natural environment, the international community has set off a powerful wave of environmental protection. People gradually realize that protecting the environment is the common responsibility of mankind, and we must take the same action.
(2) The emergence of trade and environmental problems makes the implementation of green barriers find a reasonable excuse. Reducing pollution, saving energy and rational utilization of resources have become a new focus in the world. It is generally believed that one of the costs of economic growth is environmental deterioration, especially free trade, which is regarded as a factor to accelerate environmental deterioration. Therefore, all countries have formulated some corresponding environmental laws and trade policies, hoping to protect and improve the ecological environment through government intervention in trade. In fact, there are no irreconcilable differences or even conflicts between environmental protection and trade liberalization, but they can promote each other and develop together. Reasonable trade liberalization will not only harm the environment, on the contrary, further liberalization of international trade in goods and services can play a key role in environmental protection. At the same time, a healthy and safe environment can provide necessary ecological resources for the sustainable development of economy and the expanding trade market.
(3) The relevant provisions of 3)GATT and WTO provide legitimacy for the implementation of green barriers. At the beginning of the establishment of GATT, environmental pollution and environmental damage have not yet become the focus of international attention. With the rapid development of industrial economy and the increasingly severe punishment of environmental pollution, people's awareness of environmental protection has gradually improved. 1972165438+1October, GATT established the "Working Group on Environmental Measures and International Trade". After entering the1990s, with the intensification of the contradiction between free trade and environmental protection. In order to compete for the international market and protect the domestic market, some countries use domestic environmental regulations or measures as a means of protection; On the other hand, with the intensification of environmental pollution and the public's strong appeal for environmental protection, the state has to formulate environmental standards and measures involving production, processing, transportation and sales, including import and export trade. 1In April 1994, the World Trade Organization decided to set up a committee on trade and environment to coordinate the relationship between trade measures and environmental measures.
(4) The gap between developing countries and developed countries in science, technology and economic development is an important factor for the rapid development of green barriers. Due to the differences in productivity levels, especially for the consideration of resource protection and economic interests, there are many contradictions between developed and developing countries on environmental and trade issues. With the development of the international economic situation and the intensification of competition, these contradictions are becoming increasingly acute. Developed countries have taken advantage of this different environmental standard caused by different economic levels. On the one hand, they step up the looting of primary products of resources in developing countries, and at the same time transfer polluting enterprises to developing countries, making the environment in developing countries worse; On the other hand, it tries its best to closely link environmental issues with the trade treaty mechanism, and regards environmental issues as new trade barriers, thus offsetting the comparative advantages of developing countries in resources and cheap labor, limiting their economic development and maintaining their leading position in the international multilateral economic and trade field. This practice of introducing so-called "environmental clauses" into international trade in the name of "environmental protection" discriminates against or even restricts the economic development of developing countries and the market access of their products, which makes green barriers develop rapidly.
3, the manifestations of green trade barriers
At present, the green trade barriers used in the world mainly have the following forms:
(1) green tariff system. Import surcharge levied by importing countries on imported products that may cause environmental threats and damage.
(2) Green market access system. Measures taken by importing countries to restrict the import of foreign products by polluting the environment, endangering human health and violating relevant international environmental conventions or domestic environmental laws and regulations. For example, 1994, the US Environmental Protection Agency stipulates that harmful substances such as sulfur and benzene in imported gasoline must be lower than the relevant standards, otherwise the import is prohibited. ③
(3) Green countervailing, green anti-dumping and environmental trade sanctions. A country suspects that the low price of imported products is due to accepting environmental subsidies from the government of the exporting country or not internalizing the environmental costs in the production process, and takes restrictive measures or gives corresponding sanctions to imported goods.
(4) Implement domestic ppm standards and other environmental protection standards. PPMs is "processing &; The abbreviation of "product method" is a specific environmental standard for product production and processing. Some countries have a high level of production technology. As people put forward higher quality requirements for the living environment, these countries have formulated stricter PPMs standards and other almost harsh environmental protection standards, which require imported goods to meet the requirements.
(5) Mandatory green signs (signs), mandatory ISO 14000 certification, etc. Green signs (signs) and certification systems are not mandatory, and all kinds of enterprises can decide whether to apply according to their own needs. However, if the government of the importing country regards certification as a necessary condition for importing goods or domestic enterprises to cooperate with other countries, then the products that want to be exported to the other country must choose the road of certification and labeling.
(6) cumbersome import inspection procedures and inspection systems. Many green trade barriers are set for the content of toxic and harmful substances. In order to restrict imports, the government of the importing country has formulated a set of strict inspection system and cumbersome inspection procedures at the expense of gravity, and used its advanced inspection equipment and conditions to inspect imported goods, making it difficult for imported goods to pass the customs.
(7) Requiring compulsory measures such as recycling, government procurement and deposit system. For example, the Dutch government stipulates that all beer and drinks should be packed in recyclable containers, which actually brings great trouble to imported similar products.
4, the status and role of green trade barriers
In addition to protecting the ecological environment, green barriers play an increasingly important role in trade, environment and even social and economic development, mainly as follows:
(1) Green barrier is an important way to protect the ecological environment and promote sustainable development. Protecting the ecological environment and promoting global sustainable development is the consensus of the international community.
(2) Green barrier is an important means to promote technological progress, adjust and optimize industrial structure. The green wall is the result of technological progress. At the same time, by constantly improving the requirements and standards of environmental protection technical regulations, especially adopting international standards and conformity assessment system, it is also conducive to promoting technological progress, improving production efficiency, encouraging the development of enterprises with high technical level and reaching higher standards, eliminating low environmental protection standards and unqualified products, and promoting the survival of the fittest, which is conducive to the adjustment and optimization of industrial structure.
(3) Green barrier is an effective tool to protect people's health and safety. By using green barriers, even the trade of products harmful to human health and safety is restricted, thus helping to protect human health and improve the quality of life.
(4) Green barrier is an important weapon to safeguard national basic security. Establishing an effective green barrier system can help a country maintain its basic national security. Environmental pollution and ecological destruction destroy the natural support system of human survival and activities, and directly threaten human life and health. In particular, global environmental problems pose a real threat to the security of all countries. Therefore, environmental security is the most fundamental security issue. Environmental security, military security, political security and economic security are interrelated and interact to form a complete security concept.
(5) Green barrier is an important lever to regulate import and export trade. Green barrier measures are playing an increasingly important role in regulating trade. The increasing and complicated green barrier measures have an increasing impact on international trade and have become the focus of attention of all parties. It is urgent to establish a green barrier system to regulate trade import and export. ④
Second, the status of green trade barriers
1. In recent ten years, green trade barriers have been used more and more frequently and become another important trade measure after anti-dumping measures. Among the 49 17 products in the world, the trade volume of 3,746 products affected by green trade barriers reached US$ 4.732 billion, accounting for 88% of the global imports in 199, of which US$ 679 billion was directly affected, accounting for 3% of 137 importing countries adopted green trade. According to a survey conducted by the EU Environmental Protection Agency, the value of "non-green products" banned by EU countries in198 reached 30 billion US dollars, 90% of which came from developing countries, involving thousands of commodities such as textiles, clothing, cosmetics, daily necessities, toys, furniture and household appliances. According to the information provided by the first international advanced seminar on green chemistry in China, during the period of 1997, at least $7.4 billion of China's export commodities were blocked by environmental factors. ⑤
2. Green trade barrier measures involve more and more fields. On the one hand, green trade barriers are constantly adjusted and supplemented with the needs of social and economic development, and endless and varied green trade measures have emerged, involving environmental protection, human health, biodiversity, animal and plant safety and other fields; On the other hand, the scope of the jurisdiction of green trade barriers is getting wider and wider. In recent years, green environmental protection requirements have been put forward not only for products (consumption) themselves, but also for product design and development, raw material input, production methods, packaging materials, transportation, sales, after-sales service, and even factory buildings, logistics facilities, medical and health conditions of operators, such as HACCP plan implemented in the United States. More seriously, the current green trade barriers are not only manifested in environmental technical regulations and standards, but also the implementation process of these regulations has gradually become a serious obstacle for foreign goods to enter the market. Some disputes in the implementation process often lead to protracted investigation and evidence collection, which greatly increases the cost and delays good business opportunities. For example, live fish exported from China to South Korea have to go through 45 days of batch inspection, resulting in a large number of live fish dying in the dock, and re-export is almost impossible. ⑥
3. The target countries that set up green trade barriers have certain pertinence. Green trade barriers are often aimed at emerging developing countries, because they have a certain economic foundation and can use their own resources and labor advantages to produce and export a large number of resources or labor-intensive products. Their export products have certain competitive advantages and are easy to pose a threat to similar industries in importing countries. Therefore, the exports of these developing countries are most vulnerable to the green trade barriers of developed countries.
4. Green trade barrier measures are dynamic. With the development of the situation, the measures of green trade barriers determined by various countries will be constantly adjusted, including the contents, methods, means, objectives and degrees of setting barriers, which are appropriately changed according to needs; In addition, the dynamic nature of green trade barriers also shows that the implementation of green trade barriers often produces a linkage reaction, and the implementation of one country will immediately cause other countries to follow suit, and quickly spread from one restrictive country to many restrictive countries, causing a major blow to exporting countries.
From the above analysis, we can see that the widespread use of green trade barriers in today's international trade has seriously affected the normal development of international trade and the smooth development of national economies. For developing countries, especially for export-oriented developing countries like China, green trade barriers are undoubtedly a "gentle" sword, which is gentle to the economic lifeline of developing countries.
Third, the impact of green trade barriers on international trade.
1, the impact on the development of international trade
Like other trade barriers, green barriers will hinder the development of international trade. After setting up green barriers, the international trade volume of restricted products has declined. However, if the international trade volume of such products declines at a certain speed before setting up green barriers, it will not necessarily lead to the absolute decline of international trade volume.
2, the impact on commodity structure and geographical direction
Generally speaking, agricultural trade is more affected by green barriers than industrial manufactured goods, labor-intensive products trade is more affected by green barriers than technology-intensive products, and foreign trade of developing countries is more affected by green barriers than developed countries themselves. To some extent, this situation has affected the changes in the commodity structure and geographical direction of international trade, and hindered and damaged the development of foreign trade of developing countries.
3. Impact on importing countries
Green barriers, like other trade barriers, play a role in restricting imports, raising the domestic market prices of importing countries and protecting their own markets and production. Because the polluted products are kept out of the country by green barriers, consumers in importing countries enjoy healthier, safer and cleaner products. However, due to the rising price of products, consumers in importing countries must buy the goods they need at higher prices, and the manufacturers concerned get high profits from them.
4. Impact on exporting countries
The impact of green barriers on different manufacturers in exporting countries is different. For manufacturers who turn to cleaner production technology and produce green products in time, they are in a favorable position in the market. Green barriers have hindered the export of many domestic manufacturers, the competitors have dropped sharply, the export market is broad, and the price of green products has risen in the international market, which has enabled manufacturers of green products to compensate for the increased costs due to the adoption of cleaner production technologies. For those manufacturers who can't switch to cleaner production technology in time but still use the old polluting production technology, their situation will be seriously deteriorated. The domestic supply of this kind of products exceeds demand, and the backlog of products in a short time makes the price fall and the output decrease. Consumers will benefit from the price, but at the same time, they will have to bear the side effects caused by using polluted products.
5. Impact on China
In recent years, China's foreign trade is facing the challenge of more and more green trade barriers from developed countries and even developing countries. Generally speaking, green trade barriers have a negative impact on China's export market share, trade opportunities, reputation of enterprises and commodities, which leads to the decline of foreign consumers' confidence in some products in China, especially agricultural products and food, and has a long-term negative impact on China's exports. Specifically, the impact of green trade barriers on China's foreign trade is mainly reflected in the following aspects: from the market scope of product exports, China's current main export directions are still Japan, the United States, Southeast Asia, the European Union, South Korea and other countries, whose export share accounts for 80% of China's total foreign trade exports, and most of these countries (or regions) are environmentalists and advocates, and are also the birthplace of green trade barriers. The market sales of China's export commodities are easily affected by green trade barriers. From the perspective of product export growth rate, because China's export market is relatively single and fixed, once the current market sales are affected, the export growth rate will inevitably decline, especially in the case that some developed countries set up green trade barriers specifically for some commodities in China, the export of this commodity will immediately stagnate, and if countermeasures are not taken in time, it will affect the development of the whole industry. Judging from the export cost and income of enterprises, since green trade barriers mostly appear in the form of environmental standards and signs, it is necessary to invest a lot of money and manpower in technological transformation to improve environmental quality in order to realize their environmental standards and obtain their environmental signs. At the same time, the relevant inspection, testing, certification and public relations procedures and related expenses are increased, which greatly increases the cost of export products, weakens the price advantage, loses the competitiveness in the international market and reduces the export benefits of enterprises. From the perspective of China's foreign trade relations, due to more and more green trade barriers, the trade friction between China and its major trading partners is constant. If it is not handled properly, it will affect bilateral or multilateral trade relations. Therefore, we must properly deal with the impact of green trade barriers on China's foreign trade. ⑦
Fourth, China should take countermeasures.
1, adhere to the sustainable development-oriented industrialization model.
China is the first developing country in the world to formulate the 2 1 century agenda. "Taking the road of sustainable development is China's own need and inevitable choice in the future and the next century". The Proposal on Formulating the Tenth Five-year Plan for National Economic and Social Development adopted by the Fifth Plenary Session of the 15th CPC Central Committee pointed out that "implementing the strategy of sustainable development is a long-term plan related to the production and development of the Chinese nation". The proposal clearly puts forward the industrialization mode led by sustainable development, which embodies the connotation of sustainable development. ⑧
2. Develop green industries and enhance the international image of China.
At present, China's trade dependence is higher than that of the United States, Japan, India and Brazil. If we only focus on increasing the degree of openness, the deterioration of terms of trade will lead to the outflow of resources. Therefore, we should improve China's trade quality and optimize the trade structure, in which making products meet environmental standards is an important factor to improve the quality of export products.
(1) Attach importance to investment in science and technology and develop green industries.
As the green trade barrier is an unavoidable trade problem for enterprises in China, it will become the development direction of enterprises in the future to use the enlightenment brought by the green trade barrier to improve the environmental protection standards of China industries, develop green industries and realize humanized production, management and service processes, and the government should give corresponding guidance and support to enterprises from a macro perspective.
(2) Improve the quality of finished products under the guidance of environmental labels.
Improving the quality of finished products is the key to break through the environmental barriers in the international market. Therefore, the certification of environmental labels should be popularized in qualified enterprises and products, and the quality of industrial finished products should be improved under the guidance of environmental labels.
(3) Promote the export trade of environmental protection products in combination with IS0 14000 standard.
As a set of scientific and effective environmental management standards, the implementation of IS0 14000 series environmental standards has become an international trend. However, in China, the implementation of IS0 14000 management system has just started and needs further development and promotion. Therefore, it is necessary to allocate hardware and equipment for environmental management as soon as possible, improve various laws and regulations, and actively promote IS0 14000, so that more enterprises can meet the requirements of international environmental standards and promote their products to enter the international market.
3. Establish an early warning and rapid response mechanism for green trade barriers.
(1) Collect and track the trends of foreign environmental barriers, establish relevant information centers, databases and consulting institutions, and strengthen research and information collection. There are many environmental barriers in major trading countries, which have great influence on China's export products. We should set up a special department to collect and analyze information about environmental barriers, understand the laws, regulations, technologies and standards of major trading countries, and at the same time strengthen the research on public technologies related to environmental issues, and set up consultation points to serve enterprises.
(2) Accelerate the research and formulation of relevant product standards and inspection standards in China, and gradually integrate with international advanced standards. Necessary funds should be invested to improve the technical conditions of testing, so that some qualified professional inspection institutions can obtain the authorization to directly issue international green passes through international certification, and strive to become members of relevant international organizations.
(3) In order to ensure national security, protect people's health and environment, and reasonably and effectively protect domestic leading industries and infant industries, we should establish our own environmental barrier system with reference to international norms. Resolutely prohibit the import of products that cause serious environmental pollution (including hazardous wastes and products, technologies and equipment that cause serious environmental pollution eliminated from abroad), strengthen the inspection and quarantine of imported goods, and prevent products that endanger people's lives and safety from entering the domestic market.
(4) Establish an early warning and rapid response mechanism for China's green trade barriers. International standards, the government and its standardization organizations often revise their environmental protection laws and standards. If the information of enterprises is not smooth, and they can't grasp the changing standards and related information in time, they can't adjust the production and operation countermeasures in time and effectively deal with the green trade barriers. Therefore, the government and relevant trade associations must attach great importance to the importance of establishing an early warning mechanism for green trade barriers, collect and feed back the changes of foreign trade barriers in time, carefully study the impact of green trade barriers on China's main export products, and put forward corresponding suggestions to create a good export environment for export enterprises. ⑨
4, pay attention to the improvement of environmental laws and regulations and external coordination.
(1) Establish and improve environmental protection laws and regulations, strengthen environmental law enforcement, and truly realize the internalization of environmental costs. Starting with environmental tax legislation, gradually improve various environmental protection laws and regulations, make them tilt towards green industries and encourage cleaner production; Environmental legislation should focus on prevention, strengthen supervision and management, especially the supervision and management function of the government, and severely punish violations of environmental laws and regulations in economic activities according to law. To establish a green security system, we should pay attention to the relationship between cleaner production technology and cost in the process of implementing cleaner production, so as to achieve the "win-win" goal of protecting the environment and reducing production costs.
(2) To strengthen the coordination of foreign public relations. China, as the largest developing country, should unite with other developing countries, take advantage of various international public occasions, oppose the excessively harsh environmental barrier requirements of developed countries, and demand corresponding preferential policies for developing countries. At the same time, when formulating new standards to protect the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries, the actual situation of developing countries should be fully considered. ⑩
5. Strengthen environmental publicity and education, and widely establish the environmental awareness of the whole society.
An important reason why developed countries can establish industrial systems that meet strict environmental standards and use green trade barriers to hinder the export of commodities from developing countries is the growing public enthusiasm and environmental protection requirements. On the basis of national environmental education, gradually establish the ethical concept of "honesty and trustworthiness, kindness to life and kindness to nature", actively advocate green consumption and green lifestyle, establish "scientific, reasonable and healthy demand", and abandon the lifestyle and consumption concept of "extravagance and waste, pollution to the environment". Broadly raise the public's environmental awareness and lay a solid social foundation for sustainable development.
Precautions:
(1) Green Barriers and International Trade, by Wang Jinnan, China Environmental Science Press, 2002, 1 1, 1st edition, p. 2.
② Green Barriers and International Trade by Wang Jinnan, China Environmental Science Press, 2002, 1 1, p. 4.
③ Global Green Trade Barriers and China's Foreign Trade Development Countermeasures, Du Qiang, Foreign Trade Economy and International Trade, May 2003.
④ Green Barriers and International Trade, written by Wang Jinnan, China Environmental Science Press, 2002, 1 1, p. 7.
The Impact of WTO Environmental Issues on Global Trade, Chen Jun, Environment and Development, April 2006, 5438+0, p. 10.
China Trade and Investment Report 2003, Ministry of Commerce, June 2003.
⑦ Green Barriers and International Trade, written by Wang Jinnan, China Environmental Science Press, 2002, 1 1, p. 1 37.
⑧ Introduction to Sustainable Development, edited by Wang and Wang Xirong, Shandong People's Publishing House, May 2000, p. 56.
Pet-name ruby "on the establishment of China green trade development model" by Cao Jie, foreign trade and international trade, 200 1.9.
Attending Analysis of Countermeasures against Green Trade Barriers by Wang Seriously and Qiu, Anhui Agricultural Science, April 2002.