Chinese firms propose non-tariff trade of cheap goods with N. Korea

North Korean-made shoes on display (Yonhap)

SHENYANG, China, March 30 (Yonhap) — Chinese firms have proposed establishing a non-tariff trade market with North Korea where cheap goods can be traded without tariffs between the two nations, according to the Chinese border city of Dandong on Monday.

The proposal was made by representatives of Chinese firms in Dandong on Thursday when they met with a North Korean trade delegation, led by Pak Ung-sik, director of the North’s Korean International Exhibition Corporation, according to a statement posted on the Chinese city’s website.

More than 70 percent of bilateral trade between North Korea and China is conducted through Dandong.

Pak reacted positively to the proposal, saying he would relay it to the relevant North Korean authorities and hopes to hold more discussions over the proposal, according to the statement.

Another Chinese border city, Tumen, in the northeastern Jilin province, opened a non-tariff trade market with North Korea in 2010, but the market was quickly suspended as North Korea banned civilians from participating in it due to concerns over the spread of banned materials that may enrage the North’s leadership.

At that time, Tumen had pledged not to impose tariffs on the trade of goods worth less than 8,000 yuan (US$1,287) per person.

China’s is the economic lifeline of North Korea, but their political ties remain strained over the North’s defiant pursuit of nuclear ambitions.

North Korea’s annual trade with China fell 2.4 percent from a year ago in 2014, marking the first decline since 2009, according to data compiled by the Beijing unit of the South’s Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).

The North’s trade with China totaled US$6.39 billion last year, compared with $6.54 billion in 2013, the data showed.

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