China's Vegetable Export And Japan's Positive List System

Since May 29, 2006, Japanese government has launched a new "Agricultural Chemical Residues in Food Positive List System" which was called "Positive List System" for short. It is aimed to strengthen Japanese residue management in foodstuffs (including edible agricultural products), agricultural chemicals (including pesticides, veterinary drugs and feed additives). After the Positive List System came into effect, foods containing residues exceeding the MRLs on the list, or 0.01 ppm in cases where there are no MRLs established will be prohibited in Japan. The system, being a legislative approach, offers a systematic regulation on the limits of agricultural chemicals and provides a legal foundation for Japanese government to take stronger inspection and quarantine measures on the import of edible agricultural products.Positive List System is Japan's new technical trade barrier, of which standards of pesticide residues are very harsh. Since its implementation, it has produced tremendous impact on Chinese agricultural products, especially on the vegetable products exported to Japan. So, studying the Positive List System, analyzing its impact on vegetable export of China, and discussing the countermeasures of breaking through the new trade barrier are an important task in front of us.This dissertation comprises four chapters. Chapter one introduces the trade barriers problems that China's vegetable encounters in international market and the Japan's adoption of new trade barrier - the Positive List System. Chapter two gives comprehensive introduction of the Positive List System, including its background, its specific regulations, its characteristics and the surveillance/testing program for pesticide residues under the system. Chapter three begins with the overall situation of China's vegetable exported to Japan. Then it is devoted to analyze the impact of the Positive List System on China's vegetable export. Chapter four focuses on current countermeasures China has taken in coping with Positive List System, and then gives some suggestions to the Positive List System on China's vegetable export.