Abstract: Trade protection is an indispensable part of national trade policy. After China's entry into WTO, China's traditional trade protection system consisting of high tariffs and strict quantitative restrictions gradually collapsed. Based on the theory and practice of international trade, this paper expounds the inevitability of building a trade protection network in China, and points out that a perfect and powerful trade protection network framework in line with China's national conditions and WTO rules should be composed of trade policy, industrial policy and extended protection.
Keywords: international trade; Trade protection; Free trade; trade barrier
First, the inevitability of building a trade protection network in China
Throughout the history of international trade development, trade protection is an integral part of a country's trade policy and plays an important role in a country's economic development and the cultivation of international competitiveness. Developed countries, especially the United States, have established a perfect trade protection network, which has played a positive role in the development of their international trade. As the largest developing country, is it necessary for China to build a trade protection network with China characteristics? The answer is yes.
(A) International trade theory based on necessity
The development of international trade theory is basically divided into two main lines, namely, trade protection theory and free trade theory. In fact, "although there has been a long-standing dispute between free trade and protected trade in economic theory, the theory of free trade has not moved towards absolute freedom even in concept, and it does not exclude necessary protection" [1].
1. The theory of trade protection is consistent with the theory of free trade. Throughout the whole theoretical system of trade protection, all advocate active participation in foreign trade. At this point, the theory of trade protection is consistent with the theory of free trade. For example, mercantilism is the early theory of trade protection theory. Thomas Meng, one of the most famous representatives, wrote in the book "Britain's wealth comes from foreign trade": "Foreign trade is the usual means to increase our wealth and cash." [2] He advocates actively pursuing foreign trade surplus. German Friedrich List put forward in his famous theory of "protecting infant industries" that weak industries in Germany should be protected. Once such small and weak industries grow into international competitiveness under the protection of policies, the state should immediately abandon the protection policy and expand the openness of foreign trade, which is conducive to the effective allocation of domestic resources and the promotion of industrial competitiveness.
In short, all kinds of trade protection theories advocate active participation in foreign trade, which also provides theoretical and logical support for the possibility of promoting domestic and foreign trade development through appropriate trade protection policies.
2. The reality and guidance of trade protection theory. Through comparative analysis, we believe that the theory of trade protection has revised the unrealistic assumption of the theory of free trade to a certain extent, which is more in line with the current international trade practice, especially providing a theoretical basis for China to implement necessary trade protection.
(1) Liszt's theory of protecting infant industries holds that each country should adopt different foreign trade policies in different historical periods. In the middle and early stage of industrialization, the implementation of trade protection can rapidly develop national industries, but when national industries have certain international competitiveness, they must be resolutely abandoned. This is actually a supplement to the implementation conditions of free trade theory. There are many industries in China that are in the emerging or initial stage, so it is necessary and necessary to protect them properly.
(2) Raoul prebisch, an Argentine economist, once put forward the "central periphery theory" from the standpoint of developing countries. This theory divides the world economic system into: the industrial national center composed of developed countries and the periphery of primary products composed of underdeveloped countries, and the periphery always develops around the will of the center. Because the benefits of technological progress cannot be distributed equally in all countries, the market of finished products is monopolized by the central countries, and the terms of trade of peripheral countries have deteriorated. The consequence of protecting industries in peripheral countries is only to correct the poor elasticity of income and demand of primary products and industrial products, and will not hinder the progress of international trade; In the process of economic development in peripheral countries, due to the change of import structure, protective measures should also change, but it is still not appropriate to completely liberalize the import of industrial products in central countries. This is not only a revision of the traditional free trade theory that all trading countries can benefit from trade equally, but also has important guiding significance for developing countries to implement trade protection.
With China's accession to the WTO, there will be less and less room to improve China's terms of trade through tariffs and quotas, and China's terms of trade, especially those of manufactured goods, are indeed deteriorating. The erosion of economic achievements by changes in terms of trade may further expand. Therefore, corresponding trade protection measures should be taken as soon as possible to improve China's terms of trade and maintain the rapid growth of foreign trade.
(3) Keynesianism believes that net exports are part of total demand and can stimulate the development of the national economy, while imports will shrink the national economy. A country's foreign trade surplus or deficit plays an important role in the country's economic rise and fall. Therefore, Keynesianism advocates that the state should intervene in international trade, vigorously promote exports, curb imports, and maintain a foreign trade surplus, and link the trade surplus with employment theory, and advocate adopting a series of macroeconomic management and adjustment measures including fiscal policy, monetary and financial policy, income distribution policy and foreign economic policy as the main intervention means to increase effective demand and expand employment. This theory provides strong theoretical support for China to implement necessary trade protection measures to promote and maintain the foreign trade surplus, and to implement macro-control on the trade sector to expand domestic demand and employment [3].
In addition, when a country has an economic crisis, unemployment and economic recession will inevitably lead to the government's protectionist tendencies. Keynes's trade theory is a revision of the traditional free trade theory, which assumes that all countries are always in a state of trade balance, and also provides theoretical guidance for developing countries to deal with possible economic crises, provide necessary trade protection and ensure the stable development of international trade.
(4) The theory of optimal intervention policy put forward by Gordon and Johnson holds that developing countries are characterized by a large number of market defects, mainly distorted inter-departmental wage differences and buyer monopoly. And there are non-economic preferences (that is, developing emerging industries). All these market defects mean that the state must intervene in the economy. Therefore, the theory of optimal intervention policy holds that when the market distortion is caused by foreign rather than domestic factors and the economic target belongs to foreign departments, it is the best choice to protect trade in the form of optimal intervention. This theory conforms to the actual situation of developing countries and is a revision of the assumption that the traditional free trade theory market is perfect. As a developing country, China also has market defects, which requires the state to implement trade protection measures.
(5) Porter put forward in The Theory of National Competitive Advantage that comparative advantage is not necessarily a realistic international competitive advantage. In order to gain international competitive advantage, the government can influence industrial competitiveness through subsidies; Support for education can affect the endowment of advanced factors; The regulation of product scale and standard will affect the demand and supply of products; Through fiscal and monetary policies, the supply, demand and competition of industry and related industries can be affected. This theory revises the comparative advantage theory of the traditional free trade theory, and also provides a theoretical basis for the comprehensive use of political, educational and financial policies for trade protection through appropriate state intervention.
3. The meaning of trade protection in free trade theory. Even the theory of free trade often expresses or implies some intentions to protect trade. For example, in Ricardo's comparative advantage trade model, it is pointed out that "countries should specialize in producing and exporting products with comparative advantages and importing products without comparative advantages" [2]. Factor endowment theory, as one of the cornerstones of free trade theory, also believes that the income distribution effect is that "trade is beneficial to abundant factors and harms scarce factors" [3]. From this, it can be considered that the owners of scarce factors all have demands for trade protection. It is necessary for most developing countries, represented by China, to implement appropriate trade protection for their scarce factor markets, so as to reduce the impact on the scarce factor markets in trade with developed countries and achieve the purpose of protecting and supporting domestic economic development.
(B) Based on the inevitability of international trade practices.
No country in history has implemented a pure free trade policy. Protecting trade is an important part of any country's trade policy at any time, and its reason for existence is eternal. There is no unified model of trade protection, and the key lies in how to coordinate the relationship between free trade and trade protection, the cost and benefit of trade protection, and domestic interests and foreign interests.
Considering the actual needs of international trade in China, it is urgent to build a trade protection network.
First of all, China's market economy system is far from perfect, and there are shortcomings in market awareness, market experience, macro-control level and microeconomic activity ability. The national unified market has not really formed, especially the international competitiveness of some important industries is not strong. Therefore, a certain degree of selective trade protection is an important measure to improve the socialist market economic system and cultivate the international competitiveness of China's industries, especially strategic industries.
Secondly, the implementation of trade protection by countries is a "game" in itself. In the face of the trade protection network of other countries, especially developed countries (including some discriminatory practices against China's import and export trade), if China does not take tit-for-tat trade protection measures, the discriminatory trade infringement of other countries, especially individual developed countries, will be unscrupulous and China's economic interests will suffer great losses.
Finally, the current rules of international trade game protect the interests of developed countries more, and building a trade protection network with China characteristics is a remedy for the current unfair international economic order.
Second, the framework of China trade protection network
(A) actively respond to trade barriers in other countries
At present, anti-dumping measures and technical barriers to trade are the most frequently used means of trade protection in the world, which pose the greatest threat to China. Therefore, China should take appropriate measures, including:
1. In view of foreign anti-dumping, the strategy of both offensive and defensive should be implemented.
(1) Effective defense. First of all, the government should step forward and try to make other countries recognize China's "market economy status". In a large number of anti-dumping cases against China, the problem of "non-market economy status" is the main reason for the abnormally high failure rate of China enterprises in responding to anti-dumping. Although in the Agreement on China's Accession to the WTO, members promised to completely cancel the current practice of using third-country substitute prices in anti-dumping investigations against Chinese products in 15 after China's accession to the WTO, in 15, to fundamentally solve this problem, the government must come forward and make more countries exclude China from the list of non-market economy countries through bilateral negotiations.
Second, the revision and utilization of the rules of origin. China's export products frequently encounter international anti-dumping, an important and easily overlooked reason is that China's rules of origin are backward. At present, China's rules of origin should be revised and improved in time according to the provisions of WTO agreement on rules of origin, and standardized management should be formed. For passive quota products with strong domestic production capacity, products with comparative advantages and products with relatively surplus domestic production capacity, higher standards of origin should be formulated to increase the proportion of domestically produced parts and components, so as to reduce the probability of China products being sued for anti-dumping by foreign countries.
Third, in the multilateral negotiations between the WTO and regional organizations, we should adopt a preconceived and pre-emptive strategy. Establish an early warning mechanism for trade barriers and trade disputes based on modern information means, attach importance to the training of WTO professionals, and arrange China experts and negotiators in key departments of the WTO dispute settlement body.
Finally, we should strengthen the guidance of responding to anti-dumping. This includes: establishing and perfecting the anti-dumping response mechanism, cultivating the relevant mechanism of responding and benefiting, and forming an effective incentive mechanism and restraint mechanism for enterprises to participate in responding; Apply WTO anti-dumping rules, bring a lawsuit to the Anti-dumping Measures Committee against unfair allegations, and demand a fair and reasonable solution; Use the WTO dispute settlement mechanism to submit anti-dumping disputes to the dispute settlement body for consultation, mediation and arbitration in time, and use the supervision and implementation mechanism to reserve the right to cross-retaliation and ensure that the resolutions of the dispute settlement body can be effectively implemented.
(2) Initiate an appropriate anti-dumping investigation. So far, there are few anti-dumping investigations initiated against imported products in China. Before China joined the WTO, there were less than 20 cases, accounting for only 4% of foreign anti-dumping cases in China [4]. China should make full use of anti-dumping tools and launch anti-dumping investigations abroad to make anti-dumping one of the important means of trade protection in China. This will not only help us to effectively protect our domestic products under WTO rules, but also be a reciprocal deterrent to those countries that abuse anti-dumping against our export products unscrupulously. However, it should be noted that since anti-dumping is a double-edged sword, it should be stopped when it is used and must not be abused.
2. Build a technical trade protection system
(1) Attach importance to the role of WTO/TBT and WTO/SPS notification and consultation centers, and establish a mechanism to ensure good cooperation and efficient operation among law enforcement agencies according to China's industrial development and WTO agreements. In this regard, we should strengthen the construction of notification and consultation websites, establish foreign technical trade measures information centers and databases, release early warning information in time, and provide information consultation services for enterprises.
(2) Actively promote the certification of a series of international standards such as ISO and IEC, expand the certification coverage of production enterprises, strengthen exchanges and cooperation with international authoritative certification bodies, implement mutual certification, avoid repeated certification, and save money. At the same time, actively participate in the formulation, revision and coordination of international standards, so that international standards can fully reflect China's interests, and strive to incorporate China's characteristic products into international standards and expand China's influence.
(3) Make use of the preferential terms of WTO/TBT Agreement and Animal and Plant Health and Quarantine Agreement (WTO/SPS Agreement) to create conditions for China's export. Formulate mandatory standards for safety, hygiene, health and environmental protection, formulate and implement relevant laws, regulations, technical standards and inspection systems that are targeted, inhibitory and restrictive to foreign related technical products, build green barriers in China, and keep products that do not meet technical standards out of the country.
(two) combined with China's actual situation, improve the industrial protection system and implement a positive industrial policy.
Industrial protection system and industrial policy are the main components of a country's trade protection system, which directly affect the effectiveness of the country's trade protection.
1. Improve the domestic industrial protection system
(1) Make full use of the substantive clauses in the rules of the World Trade Organization, which are mainly "exception clauses", and strengthen the protection of domestic industries reasonably and legally. There are many "exception clauses" in WTO rules that can be used by China, such as "safeguard clause", "balance of payments exception", "infant industry protection exception", "customs union and free trade area exception" and so on. Some clauses, such as security exceptions and special preferential treatment for developing countries, can also be used in China. For example, the tariff concessions granted by developing countries to developed countries can be lower than those provided by developed countries, and the governments of developing countries are allowed to provide certain export subsidies.
(2) Use decision-making procedures and dispute settlement procedures to gain time for domestic industrial development. After some policies are formulated, it takes a process to negotiate with opposing members, which is also a process of protecting domestic industries. Before the current policy is finally revised, domestic industries may not be protected by current industrial policies, industry standards and other norms. Dispute settlement procedure provides a broader space for domestic industrial protection. It takes several years from disputes to bilateral consultations, to the formal initiation of dispute settlement procedures, and to the execution of rulings and responding to lawsuits by dispute settlement institutions, so it can be used to strive for the development space of domestic industries, which is in full compliance with the rules of the World Trade Organization. Other WTO members have made full use of this system, which is worth learning and learning from China.
(3) Establish and improve the system of trade associations and chambers of commerce, and give full play to their role in protecting domestic industries. As mentioned above, in the trade remedy system of the World Trade Organization, it is mainly trade associations and chambers of commerce that lodge complaints against anti-dumping investigations, countervailing investigations and safeguard measures. Trade associations and chambers of commerce also play an irreplaceable role in formulating industry standards, product standards and industry access standards. China should establish the role of trade associations and chambers of commerce in the legal system and system as soon as possible, and give them certain rights and responsibilities, which is the key to improve the market economy system and strengthen domestic industrial protection.
2. Implement a proactive industrial policy
Implementing active industrial policies, enhancing industrial competitiveness and improving China's terms of trade are the keys to fundamentally consolidate China's trade protection system. The author believes that the key to implementing active industrial policy lies in trying to find the combination of competitive advantage and comparative advantage, strengthening the guiding function of industrial policy and realizing the optimization and upgrading of industrial structure.
According to the national trade theory, a country's trade structure is largely determined by its industrial structure, and its export competitiveness depends on its industrial structure to a considerable extent. Therefore, it is one of the important ways to improve industrial competitiveness by combining China's factor endowment, industrial technology level and overall economic development level, formulating corresponding industrial policies, realizing the dynamic upgrading of comparative advantages and improving the international competitiveness of export products. In particular, the following measures are recommended:
First of all, China should continue to give full play to its comparative advantage of low labor cost and further develop labor-intensive industries. Labor-intensive industries play an important role in the development of China's economy and trade, especially in the implementation of import substitution strategy. However, it is also necessary to prevent falling into the "comparative advantage trap" because of one-sided emphasis on labor factors. At present, the key to the development of labor-intensive industries in China should be: transforming traditional elements with new technologies, knowledge, information and systems to realize the organic combination of dynamic and static comparative advantages; Implement the strategy of rejuvenating trade through science and technology, make full use of all kinds of advanced technologies and management experience brought by processing trade and international investment, accumulate capital, strengthen independent innovation, and encourage enterprises to go abroad and participate in world division of labor and cooperation; Give priority to the development of internationally competitive labor capital-intensive industries such as transportation, machinery and equipment, and electromechanical manufacturing, and promote the upgrading of labor-intensive industries.
The second is to expand and improve the industrial chain, strengthen the strength of basic industries, and vigorously develop the parts processing industry, so as to reduce the dependence of processing trade on parts imports, thereby reducing the negative impact of high-priced imports of a large number of intermediate products on the growth of export benefits. While improving the efficiency of foreign trade, we will improve the overall competitiveness of China's industries and create opportunities for the export of high-tech products with high added value.
(C) the implementation of regional integration and international cooperation, extending China's trade protection network.
Because regional integration conforms to WTO rules, through regional economic integration, we can build supranational trade barriers, improve collective bargaining ability, and make China's trade protection network extend outward. For a long time to come, the focus of regional economic integration in China should be:
1. Building "China Unified Market"
At present, China should strive to establish a CEPA-like relationship with Taiwan Province Province, and under the principle of "one country, two systems", establish an economic cooperation mechanism between the four places on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to realize the economic integration of China. At present, China Mainland has signed the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) with Hongkong and Macao Special Administrative Regions respectively. Taking this opportunity, if the proposal of establishing cross-strait economic cooperation mechanism can be positively responded and put into action, it will certainly promote the development of cross-strait economic and trade relations in deeper and wider fields, promote and protect two-way investment, build a "China unified market" and enhance the dimension and depth of trade protection.
2. Strengthen economic and technological cooperation with ASEAN countries on the platform of 10+3.
First of all, China should strengthen the cooperation between China and ASEAN in the primary and secondary industries, optimize the allocation efficiency of production factors and resources on a larger scale, promote the integration of industry and economy, and improve the upgrading of regional industrial structure and regional international competitiveness. Secondly, strengthen cooperation and exchanges with ASEAN countries in economic security and risk prevention, establish a risk prevention mechanism, strengthen monitoring, adjustment and optimization of their own industrial, trade and financial structures, and improve their ability to resist external shocks. Thirdly, strengthen exchanges and cooperation with ASEAN countries in various fields, give full play to the advantages of big countries in the construction of trade zones, and enhance China's influence in political and trade negotiations.
3. Play a greater role in APEC.
On the one hand, we should firmly advocate that APEC should implement open regionalism. Regional groups will not only create trade, but also have a certain trade diversion effect. The stronger the xenophobia of regional groups, the more obvious the trade diversion effect, which is not conducive to the development of the world economy. APEC's adherence to open regionalism can minimize the trade diversion effect, is the only correct way to achieve the goal of Asia-Pacific integration and promote global economic development, and can also bring the greatest benefits to China. On the other hand, we advocate and adhere to the principle of voluntary participation in APEC, allowing members to decide their openness according to their own economic development level and affordability. This is not only to free developing countries from the rules of the game manipulated by developed countries, but also the fundamental guarantee for promoting prosperity and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. Only in this way can China gain more benefits from participating in APEC.
References:
[1] Chen Feixiang. On moderate protection [J]. Economic Theory and Management, 1995 (3): 35.
[2] Wen Hai, Lindert P, Wang Xinkui. International trade [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai People's Publishing House, 2003: 46-58.
[3] Li Jun, Yang Xiaochuan, Ping Li. . WTO and International Trade Course [M]. Beijing: China Foreign Economic and Trade Press, 2003: 67.
[4] Lu Bo. Establish China's trade protection system [J/OL]. /xxzx/XL。 JSP。