Direct Sales Ban In China Could Be Lifted By 2003 Under WTO Accession Deal
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
The U.S.-China World Trade Organization accession agreements include abolishment of the direct-selling ban in China within three years, according to the Market Access Commitments of the Government of China on Goods, Services and Agriculture treaty between the two countries. The April 10 agreement is subject to approval from Congress and the President.
You may also be interested in...
China Strategies CEO Speaks To Corruption, "Entrepreneurial" Regulators
Corruption in China creates a precarious competitive landscape and unusual business pressures - for foreign companies especially, according to Merrill Weingrod, CEO of consulting firm China Strategies
China Strategies CEO Speaks To Corruption, "Entrepreneurial" Regulators
Corruption in China creates a precarious competitive landscape and unusual business pressures - for foreign companies especially, according to Merrill Weingrod, CEO of consulting firm China Strategies
Direct sales in China
Mary Kay and Amway both received direct-selling licenses in China this month. "The direct selling authorization will open a new chapter in the business development of Amway China," company states Dec. 5. Mary Kay China, in a Dec. 8 statement, is similarly optimistic: "We anticipate that our status as a direct-selling company will facilitate our long-term market development in what is our second-largest market." China banned direct selling in 1998 after a rash of pyramid schemes countrywide threatened the stability of its socio-economic infrastructure. Commitments made under China's 2001 accession to the World Trade Organization offered some flexibility, and implementation of the Anti-Pyramid Regulation and Direct Selling Regulation in late 2005 legalized direct selling among licensed firms, though multi-level compensation remains prohibited. Avon says it was first to secure direct-selling permission in March; to date, it has recruited approximately 300,000 licensed sales reps. All three companies have been operating within a retail sales format since China's elimination of "face-to-face" marketing (1"The Rose Sheet" April 19, 1999, p. 9)...