The Chinese government has been discouraging iron and steel exports in the midst of lacklusterdemand in the global market, the Ministry of Commerce said on Tuesday.
"China's iron and steel output primarily meets domestic demand. The Chinese government hastaken measures, such as increasing the export tariffs on some products, to control exports," saidShen Danyang, spokesman for the ministry.
Shen said the tax refund rate for iron and steel exports is lower than the 17 percent value-addedtax rate. The percentage of exports, Shen added, is very low compared with total output.