Effective January 1, 2026, Announcement No. 79 of 2025 issued by the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs officially came into effect, marking the resumption of export license management for certain steel products in my country after a 16-year hiatus. The core focus is on standardizing exports and strengthening quality and monitoring. There are no quantity or qualification restrictions, and the regulations cover 300 customs codes, encompassing the entire supply chain from raw materials to intermediate products and finished products.
Key Points of the New Regulations:
Scope and Products: Covers 300 customs codes, including non-alloy pig iron, sponge iron, steel billets, slabs, hot-rolled/cold-rolled coils, and coated products, covering the entire supply chain from raw materials to intermediate products and finished products.
No export quantity restrictions or enterprise qualification approvals are involved; compliance with WTO rules is maintained.
License Application and Issuance
Steps | Core Requirements
Application Materials: Export contract (stamped by the Chinese party, signed/stamped by the foreign party) + Product quality inspection certificate issued by the manufacturer (stamped with quality inspection seal/official seal) Jiaxing Municipal Bureau of Commerce
Issuing Authority: For centrally-administered state-owned enterprises in Beijing, issued by the License Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce; for other enterprises, issued by the provincial/sub-provincial city commerce department where they are located. Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China
License Management: General trade: “One license per batch”; Processing/compensation trade: “Not one license per batch” (≤12 customs clearances within the validity period) Jiaxing Municipal Bureau of Commerce
Validity: As per the license issuance rules, subject to system labeling
Key Requirements for Quality Certificate: Must be issued by the manufacturer; the name must match the manufacturer information on the license application form.
No uniform format; must include core information such as product specifications, batch number, and inspection conclusions, and stamped with an official seal or quality inspection seal. Jiaxing Municipal Bureau of Commerce
Trading companies are not allowed to issue certificates on behalf of manufacturers; a compliant quality traceability process must be established with the manufacturer.
Key Points for Customs Declaration and Compliance: An export license must be submitted simultaneously with customs declaration. The information on the license and goods must match. Quantities exceeding the license limit (allowing ≤3% over-shipment) may result in order rejection.
Special methods such as processing trade require separate registration and use the license according to the “not one batch, one license” rule (Jiaxing Municipal Bureau of Commerce).
Exporting without a license will face customs rejection, administrative penalties, and affect customs clearance efficiency and corporate credit.
Compliance Operation Steps (Practical Application for Enterprises):
Check the product’s customs code to confirm its inclusion in the announcement’s appendix directory.
Confirm the quality certificate issuance process with the manufacturer and prepare a certificate of conformity template in advance.
Log in to the Ministry of Commerce’s unified business system platform to submit contracts, quality certificates, and other materials to apply for the license.
After obtaining the license, implement “one batch, one license” or “not one batch, one license” according to the trade method and standardize customs declaration.
Retain a complete set of documents, including the license, contract, and quality certificate, for verification.
Impact and Countermeasures
Short-term impact: Increased export costs for low value-added products (such as steel billets and rebar) force companies to shift towards high-end products (such as special steel and alloy materials).
Long-term value: Helps address trade barriers such as EU carbon tariffs, improves product quality and international competitiveness, and promotes green industrial transformation.
Company responses: Optimize product structure and increase R&D and export of high value-added products.
Establish a manufacturer quality certificate filing and traceability mechanism to avoid discrepancies in documentation.
Plan orders and license application schedules in advance to avoid customs clearance delays.
Common misconceptions clarified:
Not an “export restriction”: It is only for monitoring and quality control, with no quantity/qualification barriers.
Quality certificates are irreplaceable: Trading companies cannot issue them on behalf of manufacturers; they must be issued by the manufacturer.
Strict rules for certificate usage: “One certificate per batch” cannot be split for customs declaration; processing trade requires separate special management applications.
Post time: Jan-13-2026