| Coke is the essential raw material in modern blast furnace ironmaking, is known as "the basic food" of steel industry. China implemented export rebate policy on coke export in the early stage, the cheap export price of cokes made the export volumes of China’s cokes became the first in the world, but caused anti-dumping sanction by European Union in 2000 accordingly. For improving the export price of cokes, China implemented quota control on coke export form 2002, and abolished export rebate policy on coke export in 2004, but the export price of China’s cokes was still cheap, and caused anti-dumping sanction by European Union in 2008 again, the phenomenon of pricing power missing appeared in China’s coke export. For improving the export price of China’s coke, China kept raising tariff rates of coke export, the average tariff rates of China’s coke export had reached forty percent during 2008 and 2012, the average price of China’s coke export during these five years was up to 431 dollars per ton, China "seemingly had mastered the pricing power of China’s coke export by the export quota and export duty policies. U.S.A, European Union and Mexico charged that monopolies existed in China’s coke export on the grounds of the trade policies of China’s coke export which broke WTO rules in 2010, and won a lawsuit in 2012. China was forced to abandon the export quota and the export duty policies, the export price of China’s cokes was down to 243 dollars per ton immediately in 2013 from 436 dollars per ton in 2012, and was down to 201 dollars per ton in 2014 again, the phenomenon of pricing power missing emerged in China’s coke export again. The low export price of valuable coke resources caused huge losses to China, and this has been a real problem for solving urgently, it’s of great significance to ascertain the origin of the pricing power missing of China’s coke export and find the way to solve the problem, while these are just the attentions of the paper,this paper studied the inadequate regulations in China’s coal mining and coking industry systematically in comparison of social regulation policies and mineral & mining right polices of coal mining and coking industry in developed coke. The study found that the double inadequate ecological environmental regulations including defects existing in mine land reclamation law and pollutants emission standard of coking industry etc, the double inadequate safety and health regulations including defects existing in the compensation system of industrial injuries and occupational diseases and coking works’workplace safety standards etc, exist in China’s coal mining and coking industry, the taxes, fees and mineral rights fee of coking coal resources are too low, and the set of coal mineral rights is unreasonable. The paper made a case analysis about the environmental costs, safety and health costs, and resource costs undertaken by SunCoke Energy Inc in U.S.A then. The double inadequate regulations of ecological environment, safety, and health, as well as the low taxes, fees and mineral rights fees of coking coal resources and the unreasonable coal mineral right policies cause the dispersion of production market of coal mining and coking industry jointly. Furthermore, the undue trade policies made China’s export market dispersive. The dispersion of coke production and export market caused the low export price of China’s coke jointly, this is the formation mechanism of the low export price of China’s coke.Trade policies which implemented for improving the export price of China’s coke not only reduced the international competitiveness of China’s coke export, and caused the negative effects such as triggering trade friction, export smuggling, rent-seeking and rent- making. The fundamental solution is from the standpoint of the causes of the low export price of China’s coke to solve the problems of ecological environment pollution, worker’s occupational diseases and industrial injuries which happen frequently and the excessive exploitation of resources exist in China’s coal mining and coking industry radically, this could make the coal mining and coking enterprises undertake the costs of the ecological environment pollution, the worker’s safety and health and the resources of coking coal reasonably, and avoid the trade friction and improve the international competitiveness of China’s coke export while improving the export price of China’s coke. Perfecting the social regulation policies and mineral & mining right polices can also avoid the negative effects caused by trade policies, and make China master the pricing power of China’s coke export finally.Based on the analyses above, the paper puts forward four proposals to master the pricing power of China’s coke export. Firstly, strengthen the ecological environmental regulations including perfecting the mechanism of mine land reclamation and implementing "Maximum Achievable Control Technology" standard etc. Secondly, strengthen the safety and health regulations including formulating employment injury insurance act, perfecting the mechanism of punishment and compensation of industrial injury, and introducing the point redemption scheme management in the safety regulations of coal mining and coking industry etc. Thirdly, perfect the policies of coal mineral taxes, fees and rights, including formulating resource tax rates which can reflect the scarcity of coking coal, perfecting the auction system of prospecting and mining rights, perfecting the property right policies of coal-bed gas, and guaranteeing the stability and continuity of property right policies etc. Fourthly, use the trade policies like export quota and export duty cautiously. Furthermore, the paper puts forward that the fundamental solution of the problems like pricing power missing and overcapacity existing in many industries of China is to strengthen social regulations while loosening economic regulations. |
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