China to Keep Aluminum, Alloy Export Duties Unchanged

By Li Xiaowei

Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) -- China, the world’s largest producer of aluminum, will keep export duties on the metal and alloys unchanged next year, continuing a policy to discourage expansion of the energy-intensive industry.

The export tax on primary aluminum with purity of less than 99.95 percent will remain at 15 percent, the Ministry of Finance said today in a statement on its Web site. The duty on alloy exports will also be maintained at 15 percent.

China cut taxes and raised rebates on some metal products after the economy posted its slowest growth in five years in the third quarter, raising speculation of similar measures for primary metals including aluminum. Aluminum futures have dropped 38 percent this year.

“The government hasn’t changed policy direction for the aluminum industry, which is to curb expansion of primary output and encourage value-added production,” said Eric Zhang, an analyst at commodities researcher CBI China Co. from Shanghai.

China will also keep duties on other London Metal Exchange-traded metals unchanged in 2009, the finance ministry said. Exports from China, the world’s fourth-largest economy, fell for the first time in seven years last month as the world tipped into a recession.

To contact the reporter on this story: Li Xiaowei in Shanghai at Xli12@bloomberg.net