Price control refers to the government's use of administrative power to directly stipulate the price or price change range of some products according to the situation and established policies, and enforce them. This kind of price control is not only not affected by the market, but also affects the market, thus regulating the relationship between supply and demand and meeting the needs of national management and the fundamental interests of the public. There are several kinds: maximum price, minimum price, bilateral price control and absolute price control.
The price ceiling refers to the government's stipulation that the price of a certain product or service should not exceed a certain level, such as the price of a certain medical service should not exceed that of 80 yuan. An effective price ceiling will certainly lead to a shortage of supply. This is because the effective price ceiling must be lower than the free market price. If the original market price of a medical service is 100 yuan each time, then the regulation that the price does not exceed 120 yuan will not work, because the price will not exceed 65,438 yuan. ....
The maximum price is a form of state-guided price and the highest price stipulated by the state for commodity sales. Applicable to the following situations:
1. Restrict the rise of retail prices of commodities in the market.
2. Restrict the retail prices of some industrial products in remote areas.
3. Impose a maximum price on imported goods.
4. Floating price ceiling.
The lowest price is also called "protection price". It refers to the minimum price set by the government for imported goods, that is, when the price of imported goods is lower than the prescribed minimum price, additional import tax is imposed on them or imports are prohibited. This is a non-tariff protection measure. According to the requirements of the new valuation rules (signed by the Tokyo Round of GATT) that came into effect in 198 1, the lowest price valuation method is prohibited in GATT member countries. This is because the lowest price is a negation of the valuation system based on the transaction price, which violates the valuation principle established by the new regulations. However, in the new protocol of valuation laws and regulations, developed countries made concessions to developing countries on this issue, agreeing that developing countries should keep the lowest price during the transition period, so as to alleviate the contradiction of reduced fiscal revenue brought about by the implementation of new laws and regulations.