Polluting exporters banned from trade

China's State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has frozen all foreign trade applications for exporters whose environmental standards are not in line with government regulations, according to state media. The trade bans, which last from one to three years, will only be lifted when SEPA can confirm that the company in question has taken steps to sufficiently reduce its environmental impact, the agency said. Many exporters have ignored these regulations in order to save costs, a practice that has added to the country's environmental troubles. The recent crackdown comes after allegations from other other countries that China's exports are cheap
because of lax enforcement of environmental and labor standards.