According to customs statistics, 1 in May this year, machine tool industry imports and exports 5.432 billion U.S. dollars, down 23.4% over the same period the previous year. Among them, 3.873 billion U.S. dollars of imports, down 20.45% (2008 1 ~ 5 months of imports increased by 13.29%); exports 1.559 billion U.S. dollars, down 29.85% (2008 1 ~ May exports rose 41.48%). Import and export deficit of 2.314 billion U.S. dollars, compared with a year earlier deficit of 2.646 billion U.S. dollars, a decrease of 332 million.

1 to May of this year, metal processing machine tool imports 2.484 billion U.S. dollars, down 15.84 percent; exported 543 million U.S. dollars, down 29.9%. Of which:

CNC machine tool import 3892 units, amounting to 1.203 billion yuan, down 1.79%; exports of 4173 units, amounting to 118 million U.S. dollars, down 37.1%.

Taiwan machining center imports in 2347, amounting to 625 million U.S. dollars, down 22.51 percent; export 251 units, amounting to 22.2946 million U.S. dollars, down 23.6%.

Overall, due to the international financial crisis, the United States and international markets, reduced demand for machine tool industry in year on year decline in total export value increased month by month. 1 ~ 2 months exports 633 million U.S. dollars, down 24.23 percent; 1 ~ March exports of 935 million U.S. dollars, down 25.73%; 1 ~ April exported 1.244 billion U.S. dollars, down 28.17%; 1 May to increase the export decline to 29.85%.

Industry-wide each month from the export chain situation, in the first two months of consecutive decline in three months after a slight rebound in May than in April export growth of 1.94% compared with rings, but that does not mean that external demand has improved, while the steady growth of China’s foreign trade policy and corporate self-adjustment of the move began to see some results. Industry-wide decline in total exports could slow down, but also the performance of external demand.

Judging from the current situation, not a solid foundation for the rebound in exports, the export situation remains grim. According to the relevant international organizations predicted that the world economic recession has not yet fundamentally changed the basic situation, the global decline in trade has not bottomed out, the European Union, the United States, Japan and other major export markets of China’s machinery products shrunken demand. At the same time, in the economic downturn, the countries have tended to tighten the trade policy, trade protectionism is likely to stage a comeback. In this regard, enterprises should have a clear understanding and mental preparation.

Grasp the development of preferential policies to promote export trade,

To cope with the international financial crisis, our Government has taken a number of policies to increase the macro-control efforts, expand the scale of investment, including increasing the machinery industry investment in fixed assets (which are required for investment in equipment, mainly machine tools); develop further support for the equipment manufacturing industry the development of policies and measures to encourage technological upgrading of enterprises; the full implementation of value-added tax reform; the expansion of domestic consumption in order to boost domestic demand.

At the same time, it canceled a large number of domestic investment projects duty-free import of machine tools and value-added tax exemption policy, the abolition of all foreign-funded enterprises import equipment duty-free value-added tax policy. These policies will help Chinese enterprises in independent innovation and enhance the competitiveness of domestic equipment.

For the machine tool industry’s exports is concerned, there are many favorable factors: the yuan of bank loans has been repeatedly cut interest rates; steel prices from their highs; from 2008 10 December, the state has a total of 54 three times to improve the export of machine tools tax rate; the recent Ministry of Finance, the State Administration of Taxation has notified effect from June 1 to improve the export tax rebate rate of some machinery products, of which there are 44 kinds of machine tools; state for some agricultural machinery, automobiles, home appliances sales subsidies, boosting these sectors the demand for machine tools; yuan against the dollar recently, not only stopped the momentum of rapid appreciation, but also in early June was also a slight depreciation is conducive to reducing the cost of exports. Enterprises should take full advantage of preferential policies and favorable factors, actively promote the production and foreign trade development.

Optimize the structure transformation and upgrading of export products

Current machine tool industry is facing reduced orders, sales fell, inventories increased difficulties. Canton Fair held in April this year, on average, compared with the previous orders for machinery and electronic products fell 19.4%, production and export of facing many problems.

To this end, enterprises need to enhance the superior quality of labor-intensive products (such as part of the bench drill, grinding tools, tools and some low value-added general machine tools, etc.), to consolidate and expand the international market share, we must undergo transformation and upgrading continuously optimize the export product mix, and gradually change the current low value-added and low technology content products dominated the situation and increase its high-tech, high value-added products developed, and develop products with independent intellectual property rights, attention to the constant improvement of product technical standards and improve efforts to international standards or to move closer to the international advanced technical standards and transformation in order to enhance international competitiveness.

Specific measures from the point of view, the whole industry should focus on some of the processing trade (2008 machine tool industry export of processing trade exports accounted for 15.8% of) the gradual transformation into a general trade exports; will be part of the gradual transformation into OEM products own brand exports; and adjust the high pollution, high energy consumption, high consumption of scarce resources, the product structure (such as abrasives, castings, etc.), to enhance its value.

Deepen their cooperation to promote market diversification

At present, the European Union, the United States, Japan and other developed economies, a drop in demand, so companies must diversify to explore other potential markets such as the Middle East, Central Asia, Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe, India, Brazil, Russia, and other efforts to make up for the European Union, the United States lost market share.

In recent years, China’s machinery products with India, Brazil, Russia and other emerging economies, namely, the BRICs, in addition to our three countries other than the good development momentum of bilateral trade in 2007 and 2008, China’s export of machinery products of these three countries, the general growth of 40 % ~ 90%.

China and the ten ASEAN countries, China and Chile, China and Singapore, respectively during the period from 2005 to 2008 signed a free trade agreement; April 28, 2009, China and Peru signed a free trade agreement, both sides will be more than 90% of their products phased implementation of zero tariff, which makes China’s machine tool exports benefit.

In the current export situation is not optimistic circumstances, the enterprises should make full use of tariff reductions and preferential policies of these countries to expand exports. In particular, ASEAN, bilateral trade has developed rapidly in recent years, many of our metal cutting machine tools, pressure machines, bending machines, etc. as well as forming machine tools, abrasives, machine tools and other spare parts in the local has a strong competitive advantage, companies should actively strive to do the export to these markets.