Analysis The Effects Of Green Barriers On Sino-EU Trade

In the history of the development of international trade, free trade and trade protectionism is interdependent and replacement. After the Second World War, capitalist abandoned the trade protectionism, and substantial reduced the tariffs. Tariffs on trade restrictive effect have been reduced a lot. In the world economy has developed fast at the same time, all kinds of environmental problems also have gradually revealed. From the 1970s people put extensive attentions on the environmental issues. Advocating the natural, environmental protection and the promotion of sustained development has become the mainstream of the 21 century's international markets. In recent years, trade protectionism has begun to develop again, and this provided a breeding ground of the soil for the green barriers. The green barriers continued expand, and the export products were most of labor-intensive products in China, so the green barriers on the impact of China's foreign trade are growing.Many environmental economists tried to find the relationship between the economic growth and the deterioration of the environment changes in the law. The relatively well-known theory is the environmental Kuznets curve. Most research shows the relationship between the deterioration of the environment and the level of economic development may follow the shape of an inverted U. That is, in the early days of industrialization, the economic has low effect on the environment, and by speeding up the process of industrialization, the cost of natural resources exceed the self-handling capacity of the environment, that made the environmental pollution. To a post-industrial society or a higher stage of economic development, for the improvement of production equipment and the technology, the enhancement of the awareness of environmental protection, the environmental conditions began to improve gradually. EKC reflected the different stages corresponding to the state of the environment. Developing countries are in the left of the highest point; it is difficult to make the balance between the economic development and environmental protection. So most of the times, the developing countries tend to sacrifice the environment to develop the economic at last. This also provided the excuse for the developed countries to make the green barriers for the developing countries.Green Barrier Mechanism is manifested in the number of green barrier effect and the price effect. Through the volume control - price controls - volume control…This composite effective mechanism protected the country's economic development and security, and restricted the foreign products entering the country and the level of welfare.The implications of the green barrier had from the traditional agricultural, textile and the chemical industry to the mechanical and electrical industries and even the service industry. The EU is the first country to use green barriers. It's the largest one of the most stringent, but it is also China's largest trading partner. The electromechanical products has become the largest export products in the China, the export of electromechanical products to the European Union has been more than half of the country's total exports. The study of green barriers on the impact of China-EU electromechanical products trade has an extremely important practical significance and of strategic significance.Since 1975 China and the European Community established diplomatic relations, bilateral trade has also been rapid development. China's exports of the products to the EU mainly labor-intensive products, from the traditional structure of the textile, toys, agricultural products to a higher technological content of products, the proportion of electromechanical products exports was more and more, and has exceeded more than half of the total import and export volume.From the structural point of view, the capital-technology-intensive electromechanical products are significantly increased, but Chinese electromechanical products exports to the EU mainly concentrated in the labor-technology-intensive products. It's easier damaged by the green barriers, Chinese export of electromechanical products to the EU has repeatedly banned, many mechanical and electrical enterprises in China have suffered tremendous losses and the impact is extensive.EU is the first countries to make the green barriers to electromechanical products. CE mark is a mandatory sign, belonged to a product logo in EU. The European Union's new management organization makes the rule that the CE mark must be signs for all EU production or sale of products. CE mark is a safety certification mark; it's the passport to enter the European market for the manufacturers. WEEE and RoHS directives have very deep influence on China's exports of electromechanical products. Two directives have set higher requirements to the materials, component, design and technology for the electromechanical products to protect the environment; and also give the enormous impact and influence for the whole of Chinese electromechanical industry chain. On July 6, 2005, the European Parliament and the Council issued EuP Directive formally. EuP Directive is a framework directive with no product-specific requirements. According to this directive, the EU will make the relevant regulations about the further development of the product requirements, known as the"implementation measures". However, the directive will be involved in a lot of products, in principle it will cover all the energy products that consume of electricity, solid fuels, liquid fuels and gaseous fuels expect of the vehicles.In the dialectical view, the reason for China's export of electromechanical products to the EU was hindered by the green barriers many times was both domestic inherent problems as well as external factors. For example, indifferent awareness to China's environmental protection, lack of green economy, lack of the core competitiveness for the majority of China's enterprises, the lower level of science and technology of the electromechanical products; lack of specialized green barriers research canters, enterprises lack of awareness of certification; the strong awareness of environmental protection of the developed countries such as EU public; China-EU trade deficit; green barriers themselves have a certain rationality, legality, concealment and discriminatory characteristics, and so on.We should understand the green barriers'impact on Sino-EU trade. In the short-term or the static point of view, green barriers lead to the increasing cost of China's exports, reducing the competitiveness of the enterprise and resulting in bilateral trade friction, it is difficult to enter the European Union which a large number of overseas markets. From this point of view, green barrier is not conducive to the development of Sino-EU trade. From a long-term or dynamic point of view, the green trade barriers play a positive role in this regard, it will promote our products competitiveness in the world market and the industrial structure in China. It is conducive to China's development of the environment and the foreign trade. It is also conducive to the development of Sino-EU trade.If China wants to be a real sense of the largest trading nation, we must meet the green barrier challenges bravely. Our government and enterprises meet the challenges with a positive attitude, and change resistance as a driving force, seize the opportunity and take a series of effective measures. We will achieve the win-win situation between the trade and environmental protection.The government should undertake corresponding duties and carry out the"environmental diplomacy"to resist the green protectionism actively. It should strengthen the national awareness of green economy, make the environmental protection into the long-term development strategy, set up early warning and rapid response mechanisms of green barriers, promote China's environmental protection laws, strengthen the certification construction, improve the work of the certification authority, encourage technological innovation and the green industry. The government should provide the export industries a healthy and stable international environment and help the enterprises to cope with the green barrier. Enterprises should make the green design, green manufacturing, green marketing and the green certification. They should make the industry associations organizations together to protect their legitimate rights and interests, to develop the green economy. In short, as long as the government and enterprises active coordination, China will certainly be able to break the EU green barriers, and expand the range of products exported including the electromechanical products.