Official: US export controls may stifle trade
31 August 2006
US proposals to expand license requirements for high-technology companies exporting to China will stifle business and increase uncertainty over bilateral trade, the Ministry of Commerce said Wednesday. Ministry spokesman Chong Quan told state media rules proposed by the US Department of Commerce and the Bureau of Industry and Security last month to add 47 categories of high-tech products to a list of goods requiring export licenses would set "unreasonable obstacles" to trade and harm the interests of firms in both countries. Chong said easing restrictions on high-tech trade with China would help narrow the current Sino-US trade gap. "We hope the US will take constructive measures to facilitate the trade of high-tech products," he said. "It will not only reduce the current trade imbalance, but also secure healthy growth."