The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement formally came into effect——
Promote trade and investment, promote open cooperation
Just after midnight on January 1, 2022, in the regional comprehensive economic partnership agreement (RCEP) Qingdao economic and trade cooperation pilot innovation test base, Qingdao Customs issued the RCEP origin of more than 2,800 tons of calcium chloride exported to Japan by Qingdao Gulf Group Co., Ltd. Certificate, this is the first RCEP certificate of origin in the country.
"With this certificate of origin, the tariff rate paid after the goods arrive in Japan can be reduced from 3.3% to 3%." Liu Kun, the company's business manager, said that the tax reduction for this batch of goods alone amounts to nearly 10,000 yuan.
On January 1, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) officially entered into force for six ASEAN member states including Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, as well as 10 countries including China, Japan, New Zealand and Australia.
South Korea has also completed the approval process, which will take effect on February 1, and other members are stepping up relevant approval procedures.
The world's largest free trade zone officially set sail.
Tariff concessions will be implemented immediately, and enterprises will get benefits
On the morning of January 1, Xugong Construction Machinery Group Import and Export Co., Ltd., located in Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province, passed the Nanjing Customs review and became the first batch of approved exporters in the country after the implementation of RCEP, and it immediately exported a concrete mixer to Thailand. The country’s first declaration of origin under RCEP was issued.
On January 1, 16 customs affiliated to Nanjing Customs, including Changzhou Customs, Nantong Customs, and Suzhou Industrial Park Customs, issued a total of 36 certificates of origin under RCEP, with a total amount of US$5.4835 million.
The CCPIT is also stepping up action.
On the first day of RCEP’s entry into force, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and local agencies issued 158 RCEP certificates of origin for 69 companies across the country, involving an export value of 12 million U.S. dollars, and it is expected that tariff reductions and exemptions for companies will be 180,000 U.S. dollars.
At present, certificates of origin exported to Singapore, Thailand, Japan, New Zealand and Australia under RCEP have been fully electronically issued. CCPIT has also launched convenient issuance services such as "appointment office", "post office", and "quick office" to facilitate the rapid delivery of goods. Customs clearance, enjoy the benefits of tariff reduction and exemption.
"From today, China will fully implement all the commitments and obligations of the RCEP agreement." On January 1, Yang Zhengwei, deputy director of the International Department of the Ministry of Commerce, introduced that the immediate zero tariff ratio between my country and ASEAN, Australia and New Zealand exceeded At 65%, the immediate zero-tariff ratios with South Korea are 39% and 50%. my country and Japan have newly established free trade relations, and the mutual immediate zero-tariff ratios have reached 25% and 57%, respectively.
On this basis, RCEP member states will basically realize that 90% of their products enjoy zero tariffs in about 10 years.
Promote regional economic integration and broad development space
"RCEP will significantly improve the level of regional economic integration in East Asia." Tu Xinquan, Dean of the China WTO Research Institute at the University of International Business and Economics, said that most of the RCEP member countries are close neighbors of my country, accompanied by rules of origin, customs clearance procedures, inspection and quarantine, technical standards and other cargo rules. To achieve unification, tariff reduction and the removal of non-tariff barriers will have a superimposing effect, which will significantly enhance trade ties between members.
At 0:00 on January 1, Shenzhen Huanggang Port ushered in the country's first imported goods after the RCEP agreement took effect. 5.6 tons of reflective film originating from Japan was released after inspection by Shenzhen customs officers and will be used for the production of mobile phones, digital cameras, etc. Backlight products.
At the same time, in Linyi, Shandong, in the early morning of January 1, Linyi Customs, a subsidiary of Qingdao Customs, issued a RCEP certificate of origin for a batch of garments purchased by Shandong Kangrong International Trade Co., Ltd. and exported to Japan.
Under RCEP, the materials produced and used by enterprises of member states of other member states' origin can be regarded as the original materials that accumulatively increase the proportion of origin value components, making it easier for the export products of member states to reach the threshold of benefit.
"This will encourage manufacturers to allocate production resources in the region, give full play to the resource endowments and comparative advantages of countries in the region, and help form a closer and more resilient industrial chain and supply chain in the region, with broad development space." China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Yan Yun, director of the Commercial Certification Center, said that relevant companies should give full play to the advantages of my country's entire industrial chain, make good use of the regional integrated market, and lead development through innovation.
Not only is the scale larger, but also the level of openness is higher.
Tu Xinquan introduced that in the field of service trade, all countries have significantly higher levels of openness under RCEP than their other multilateral and bilateral agreements, and will be fully converted to a negative list within six years of entry into force.
In the field of investment, members have made high-quality commitments on non-service sector investments by adopting the negative list method, and no new restrictions shall be added to the list, and the level of investment protection has been strengthened.
The simulation results of the "RCEP Impact Assessment Report on Regional Economy" issued by the Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce show that by 2035, RCEP will drive the cumulative increase in regional exports and imports to 857.1 billion U.S. dollars and 983.7 billion U.S. dollars. This is the region. And inject strong impetus into global economic growth.
Strengthen publicity and promotion to help companies make good use of the agreement rules
How to apply for a certificate of origin?
How to determine the cumulative value of the area?
In order to help foreign trade companies understand the new rules and make good use of the new rules, Beijing Customs organized 6 rounds of online and offline RCEP policy briefings for the four major categories of tariff reduction tables and rules of origin that companies are concerned about, and compiled and Distribute "RCEP Questions and Answers Booklet" and "Questions and Answers of Customs Business of the Origin of Export" to enterprises to help enterprises make good use of the agreement dividends.
Shanghai Customs has promoted "digital transformation" such as intelligent verification of origin, and optimized the management model of origin.
Guangzhou Customs provides enterprises with professional policy interpretation through various forms such as online training and on-site guidance.
At present, the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China has negotiated specific measures for the implementation of origins with the customs of various countries, and announced the "Administrative Measures for the Origin of Imported and Exported Goods under RCEP" and the "Administrative Measures for Approved Exporters".
The Ministry of Commerce has organized 3 national RCEP special trainings, covering all prefecture-level cities, with more than 66,000 participants, and more than 70% of them are business representatives.
RCEP is a very systematic and comprehensive policy system, which encompasses all-round and multi-field opening arrangements such as trade in goods, trade in services, two-way investment, intellectual property rights, trade remedies, and competition, and will bring major development opportunities to enterprises.
Take agriculture as an example. The RCEP area is an important destination for my country's agriculture to go global. The negative list management has significantly relaxed market access restrictions, which will help Chinese agricultural enterprises to carry out mutually beneficial cooperation in regional agricultural planting and processing.
Experts suggest that localities should adapt measures to local conditions and fully integrate the free trade zone strategy including RCEP into regional and local development strategies.
For example, the Northeast and Bohai Rim regions can take advantage of their geographical advantages to create a bridgehead for the Northeast Asian economic circle and opening to Japan and South Korea.
For another example, relying on the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Guangdong is a connecting hub between China and Southeast Asia. It can integrate manufacturing with design, logistics, finance and other service industries to build a world supply chain center for East Asia.
(Our reporter Du Haitao Luo Shanshan)