Without the GSP certificate of origin, will exports suffer?

News analysis: Without the GSP certificate of origin, will exports suffer?

　　Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, December 1 -

　　Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Hongxia

　　Recently, an announcement by the General Administration of Customs has attracted greater attention in the industry.

The announcement stated: “From December 1st, the customs will no longer issue GSP principles for goods exported to EU member states, the United Kingdom, Canada, Turkey, Ukraine and Liechtenstein and other countries that no longer grant China’s GSP tariff preferential treatment. Certificate of Origin."

　　Some believe that EU member states and other countries are canceling the most-favored-nation treatment for China, while others believe that this will impact my country's exports.

What's more, "brain supplement" creates new economic and trade frictions.

What are the facts?

　　Vehicles transport goods in the container terminal of Taicang Port, Jiangsu.

Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Bo

　　Let me talk about most-favored-nation treatment first.

From a literal perspective, "Most Favored Nation" seems to mean that you get a lot of discounts, but it's not.

Most-favored-nation treatment is the treatment of normal trade relations in modern international trade relations.

At present, China's major trading partners, including all members of the World Trade Organization, have a most-favored-nation relationship with China.

Even if certain countries violated WTO rules to impose tariffs on China at certain times, they have not completely eliminated the most-favored-nation treatment.

　　Let's talk about the "Generalized System of Preferences".

Compared with the most-favored-nation treatment, the meaning of "benefit" in the GSP is stronger and more substantial.

Generally, developed economies can grant tariff treatment such as the Generalized System of Preferences to developing countries, and developing countries can also give each other preferential treatment.

In this treatment, the beneficiary country can cancel it in due course according to the development of the beneficiary country, which is what the industry usually calls "graduation."

　　The reporter checked relevant information and learned that the European Union (including the United Kingdom, which was still part of the European Union) and Turkey, cancelled the GSP treatment for China on January 1, 2015.

The cancellation date for Canada, Switzerland and Liechtenstein is July 1, 2014.

Ukraine cancelled its GSP treatment for China earlier in 2012.

　　In other words, the countries mentioned in this announcement have all cancelled their GSP treatment for China a few years ago.

Speaking of the impact on exports, logically it should have been a few years ago.

However, the fact is that even with the cancellation of the Generalized System of Preferences, my country's foreign trade has maintained steady growth in recent years.

In the first 10 months of this year, the total value of my country's foreign trade imports and exports reached 31.67 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 22.2%, which is 130 billion yuan higher than the entire year of 2019.

In the view of Cui Fan, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics, the customs will no longer issue the GSP certificate of origin this time, but it is just a "technical treatment" by the customs.

　　On September 15, 2018, COSCO SHIPPING’s “Tianen” vessel unloaded at the dock in Härnösand, a port city in northeastern Sweden.

Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Hongxia

　　In fact, this is not the first time the General Administration of Customs has issued a similar announcement.

In an announcement in October, the General Administration of Customs decided that from October 12, 2021, it will no longer issue GSP origins for goods exported to Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and other three Eurasian Economic Union member states. Certificate.

　　The announcement made it clear that if the shipper of goods exported to the above-mentioned relevant countries requires a certificate of origin, they can apply for a non-preferential certificate of origin.

In China, the certificate of origin has been self-printed, and the entire application process can be completed without leaving home.

　　The reporter learned that as of now, there are still three countries that have granted my country's GSP treatment: Australia, New Zealand, and Norway.

The industry believes that the GSP certificate of origin may completely withdraw from the stage of history in the future.

　　The staff of the “single window” of international trade in the Xiamen area of ​​Fujian Free Trade Zone conduct business acceptance on the Internet.

Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jiang Kehong

　　In fact, thanks to my country's signing of free trade agreements with more and more economies, companies can choose the most favorable tariff arrangements according to their own circumstances.

For example, my country and Japan have established a free trade partnership through the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP). After the agreement takes effect on January 1, 2022, companies can apply for the certificate of origin under the RCEP to enjoy the corresponding agreed tax rate.

　　Industry insiders suggest that enterprises should make full use of the results of cooperation such as the construction of free trade zones, increase the utilization rate of free trade agreements, continuously optimize the structure of the export market, and create new competitive advantages.