http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/f...y-imports.html
China outraged after India bans all toy imports
India has banned all imports of toys from China for six months, in the first major example of protectionism following the financial crisis.
The ban came amid growing global tensions about protectionism, with Europe and Canada warning the US about its determination to get consumers to buy American goods and wildcats strikes in the UK over the use of foreign workers.
State media reported that the Chinese government is likely to appeal to the World Trade Organisation to reverse the ban, which is the latest blow to China's beleaguered toy industry.
China makes three-quarters of the world's toys, but a combination of safety fears and the global slowdown has hit the sector hard. By the end of last year, the number of companies exporting toys from China had halved to just over 4,000. Tens of thousands of factories have been shuttered, according to toy trade associations in Hong Kong.
India imports around half of its toys from China and its market is worth around Pounds350 million a year. The Indian government gave no reason for the ban, although Raj Kumar, the president of the Toy Association of India, said politicians were acting in the interests of the economy and consumer safety.
In December, the Chinese government raised the export tax rebates for Chinese toys by 14 per cent in a bid to help manufacturers. According to Mr Kumar, the rebates put Indian toy manufacturers at an unfair disadvantage.
"The ban cannot hold water. The Indian side is doomed to lose in the court if the Chinese government appealed to the WTO Dispute Settlement Body," said Fu Donghui, managing director of Allbright Law Firm Beijing, and a legal expert on trade issues.
"In the past, the Chinese government always kept silent. But the situation is changing, and resorting to the WTO is the right choice to prevent the trade partners from abusing the WTO regulations," he told the state-owned China Daily newspaper.
Some commentators suggested that the ban might be a rebuff to China for its close relationship with Pakistan. Indian politicians were outraged at the end of January when Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the Pakistani foreign minister, announced that he had given China carte blanche to negotiate on Pakistan's behalf with regard to the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.
The Pakistani foreign minister said that he had told He Yafei, a Chinese special envoy, to "go to Delhi and you have a blank cheque from us". He added that Pakistan was ready to do whatever China suggests.
A spokesman for India's Congress party said there was "no scope for mediation or intervention by anyone else" in negotiations between the two countries.
In 2007, the world's leading toymaker, Mattel, recalled over 21 million Chinese-made toys because of fears of poisoning from their lead paint.
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The protectonism starts
China outraged after India bans all toy imports
India has banned all imports of toys from China for six months, in the first major example of protectionism following the financial crisis.
The ban came amid growing global tensions about protectionism, with Europe and Canada warning the US about its determination to get consumers to buy American goods and wildcats strikes in the UK over the use of foreign workers.
State media reported that the Chinese government is likely to appeal to the World Trade Organisation to reverse the ban, which is the latest blow to China's beleaguered toy industry.
China makes three-quarters of the world's toys, but a combination of safety fears and the global slowdown has hit the sector hard. By the end of last year, the number of companies exporting toys from China had halved to just over 4,000. Tens of thousands of factories have been shuttered, according to toy trade associations in Hong Kong.
India imports around half of its toys from China and its market is worth around Pounds350 million a year. The Indian government gave no reason for the ban, although Raj Kumar, the president of the Toy Association of India, said politicians were acting in the interests of the economy and consumer safety.
In December, the Chinese government raised the export tax rebates for Chinese toys by 14 per cent in a bid to help manufacturers. According to Mr Kumar, the rebates put Indian toy manufacturers at an unfair disadvantage.
"The ban cannot hold water. The Indian side is doomed to lose in the court if the Chinese government appealed to the WTO Dispute Settlement Body," said Fu Donghui, managing director of Allbright Law Firm Beijing, and a legal expert on trade issues.
"In the past, the Chinese government always kept silent. But the situation is changing, and resorting to the WTO is the right choice to prevent the trade partners from abusing the WTO regulations," he told the state-owned China Daily newspaper.
Some commentators suggested that the ban might be a rebuff to China for its close relationship with Pakistan. Indian politicians were outraged at the end of January when Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the Pakistani foreign minister, announced that he had given China carte blanche to negotiate on Pakistan's behalf with regard to the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.
The Pakistani foreign minister said that he had told He Yafei, a Chinese special envoy, to "go to Delhi and you have a blank cheque from us". He added that Pakistan was ready to do whatever China suggests.
A spokesman for India's Congress party said there was "no scope for mediation or intervention by anyone else" in negotiations between the two countries.
In 2007, the world's leading toymaker, Mattel, recalled over 21 million Chinese-made toys because of fears of poisoning from their lead paint.
===============================
The protectonism starts
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