World Economic Forum -Navigating China's Regulatory Maze TPM conference March 2 2015
The World Economic Forum: Non-profit community of leaders from business, government and civil society Multi-stakeholder Brings together leaders in business with government, NGOs, international organizations, academics and civil society on a neutral platform Long-term issues Creates dialogues, insights and actions on critical global issues posing a risk to business and society Global Reach Holds high-level events in all the key regions throughout the year, based on the long-standing, strong networks with the governments Cross-industry Convenes CEOs and senior executives from over 1,000 global companies from 20 industries 2
Recent Supply Chain Initiatives Enabling Trade A platform for multi-stakeholder dialogue and collaboration to reduce barriers to international trade Enabling Trade Index: Measures national economies ease of cross-border trade based on market access, border administration, infrastructure and operating environment Based on the Bali Accord, in 2014, the Forum collaborated with the Brazilian government to discuss the facilitation process for the single window system Beyond Supply Chains Increase awareness on responsible supply chain behaviors focusing on the triple advantage i.e. balancing commercial advantage with environmental protection and contribution to the local economy In collaboration with global companies and international organization such as UPS, SAB Miller plc, Néstle SA, and International Labor Organization (ILO) to leverage best practices for responsible and safe global supply chains LETS Supply Chain Decarbonization A Forum led collaboration between 3 major logistics and transport companies: Agility, UPS, and Maersk, and the UN World Food Program to support humanitarian efforts from emergency response to large-scale natural disasters A proven track record of disaster relief including Myanmar Cyclone (2008), Haiti Earthquake (2010), Horn of Africa Famine, Japan Earthquake & Tsunami (2011), and Philippines Typhoon (2013) The Forum established the first and only agreement between 9 major logistics companies including Agility, Deutsche Post DHL, DP World, FedEx Corporation, TNT Express, UPS, Geopost Intercontinental, Stena, and Transnet and an environmental working group on a common set of standards for supply chain emissions Developed guidelines and standards related to GHG (Green House Gas) protocol Informed the principles behind the carbon emission standard, EN 16258 and provided a standard calculation and declaration of CO2 emissions in transport and logistics operations Raise the understanding of the impact of the Internet, the Internet of things and the cloud on the design and management of supply chains Moving a Connected World
China s Challenges with trade China is the world s largest exporter it accounted for some 11% of all merchandise exports in 2012, significantly more than the United States and Germany. While transport infrastructure has served China s formidable exporting machine, other barriers to exports and imports have slowed down the economic growth and development. The Enabling Trade Index ranked China 54 out of 138 economies for the trade facilitation. Source: World Economic Forum s The Global Enabling Trade Report 2014
Tariff barriers: tariffs vary depending on the type of the goods High tariff rates and complex tariff schedules on imports can hinder foreign products competitiveness in the domestic market In some aspects, tariffs have come down in the last three years, especially for basic good that meet daily needs such as food and petroleum However for certain products, tariffs remain high luxury goods and automotive parts can go up to 30% for example Companies should rely on navigating the product classifications and know the rules that apply to the specific industries * Source: KMPG 2011 Managing Trade & Customs in China
Non-tariff barriers: a good understanding of the internal procedures is essential Non-tariff barriers can block market access in particular when it comes to Special regulations: commonly implemented through standards affecting a given industry. For example, certain high value items must have local content Inconsistencies despite improvements, procedures still vary from region to region and regulation is interpreted differently based on the area Valuation of imports importers often face queries on their valuation of goods coming from various departments requesting high amount of information or refusing technical arguments Anti-dumping rules Quantitative restrictions Example: the EU Commission has registered frequent complaints around the import of agricultural products and medical devices, in particular high end or state of the art devices, delayed by inconsistent and opaque policies* Companies should navigate the system with the help of a broker or customs agent * Source: European Commission Trade Market Access Database
Implications Need local partners, such as an import/ export agents: covering the local value chain end-to-end in China such as ensuring product distribution and marketing locally. Signing a contract with a local distributor alone and doing business remotely is prone to failure Having own personnel on the ground is vital: Regulation constantly changes and evolves so need for someone to monitor evolutions Understanding the role of government is crucial: the central government sets the vision and local government implements Entry strategies Representative Office ensure that products are imported and commercialised the best way Joint Venture with local players and SOEs for bigger scale
Reducing border challenges will increase trade 71% 33% 11% 7% United States and Canada 2% 6% Europe, except FSU 26% 10% Russia and other FSU 9% 9% Korea Other oil producers 11% Mexico 26% 30% 74% 46% 34% Non-oil Middle East and North Africa 63% 55% 65% 49% South and Central Asia 12% 18% Southeast Asia 11% Japan 31% 34% China, Hong Kong, Taiwan 3% Brazil Sub-Saharan Africa 38% 39% 1% 2% Rest of Americas Oceania GDP INCREASE TRADE INCREASE 2-3% 4-5% 6-8% 9% Exports Imports Source: Ferrantino, Geiger and Tsigas: The Benefits of Trade Facilitation- A Modeling Exercise, based on 2007 base line; Ambitious Scenario