EUROPEANS JOIN CRITICISM OF CHINA PROPOSALS

   European governments and shipowners have joined their counterparts in
the U.S. in criticizing Chinese proposals to require public filing of ocean
tariffs and shipper-carrier service contracts.
   The European Commission’s representative in Beijing said the proposed
regulations would increase the cost of exporting Chinese goods and would
“clearly run against the current of developments worldwide.”
   A similar position was expressed by the Council of European and Japanese
Shipowners Associations.
   China has been soliciting comment on its proposed regulations, which
would run counter to the new U.S. Ocean Shipping Reform Act. That law,
which takes effect May 1, will end public posting of tariffs and contract
terms in the U.S. shipping trades.