China Sets Environment-Friendly Standards For Electronic Products

As the second largest manufacturer of electronic products globally, valued at US$427 billion in 2005, China announced the formation of environment-friendly standards, according to a May 17 article on People's Daily Online. The regulations, announced May 16 at a national conference, demands that all electronic products meet environment-friendly standards. The regulation becomes effective March 1, 2007.

The program, announced by the Ministry of Information is especially important since beginning in July of 2006, the EU will ban electronic products containing certain poisonous materials. In fact Chinese companies have already begun to pay for exporting products deemed harmful to the environment. Ten categories of electronic products including home appliances and telecommunications tools have been charged with recycling fees when exported to the EU.

The export of electronic products in 2005 exceeded $260 billion, accounting for 35.2% of the country's total export and 25% of global electronic trade, according to the article.

To view the complete article visit:

http://english.people.com.cn/200605/17/print20060517_266339.html

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