As of January 25, there have been 267 customs clearance of imported goods under RCEP across the country——
After taking effect, "RCEP dividend" benefits enterprises
Our reporter Qiu Haifeng
Recently, many parts of the country have shown their foreign trade transcripts since the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) came into effect: the Shanghai Customs District achieved a value of over 2 billion yuan in imports and exports under preferential trade in the first month, and 160 million yuan in Henan exports. Tariff reduction and exemption, Dalian Customs issued 1,307 RCEP certificates of origin, and the value of imported and exported goods reached 470 million yuan... Since January 1, "RCEP bonus" has become a hot word.
Relevant persons pointed out that the entry into force of RCEP is like the completion of a bridge connecting domestic and international dual circulation, bringing long-term market opportunities.
Such opportunities will help further stabilize China's foreign trade and foreign investment base, provide new impetus for regional cooperation, and build a new platform for the world to share China's development opportunities.
Significant effect on trade promotion
"After RCEP came into effect, the cost of exporting our non-woven products to Japan was greatly reduced, and the import tax rate from Japan was directly reduced to zero from 4.3% before it took effect." Talking about the changes brought about by RCEP, Hubei Jinlong Nonwovens Co., Ltd. Sun Yingwei, the manager of the general affairs department, calculated an account: in the first month after RCEP came into effect, Wuhan Customs issued a total of 74 RCEP certificates of origin for the company, and the company enjoyed a preferential tariff of 550,000 yuan. Yuan.
"RCEP is the world's largest free trade agreement. We are very happy to see that companies are eagerly looking forward to and actively sharing the dividends of RCEP's market opening." Yu Benlin, director of the Department of International Economic and Trade Relations of the Ministry of Commerce, said that from the perspective of exports, RCEP is conducive to expansion The export of my country's superior products.
The trade volume between my country and RCEP member countries accounts for about 1/3 of our total trade volume. These member countries are all important economic and trade partners of my country.
For the first time, China and Japan have reached a free trade arrangement. The two sides have greatly reduced tariffs in many fields such as machinery and equipment, electronic information, chemicals, light industry and textiles. The promotion effect of trade is obvious.
In terms of imports, major companies are also seizing opportunities.
On February 1, RCEP came into effect for South Korea.
On the same day, Jiangsu Province welcomed the first shipment of imported goods from South Korea under RCEP: Aierji New Energy (Nanjing) Co., Ltd. imported battery raw materials worth 127,800 US dollars, enjoying the agreed tax rate 1 point lower than the most-favored-nation tax rate.
"Our company is mainly engaged in the research and development and production of new energy batteries. After RCEP comes into effect in South Korea, the company's imports of goods under RCEP will enjoy more preferential treatment. It is expected to enjoy tariff reductions of more than 4 million yuan throughout this year." Aier Shen Donghuan, deputy general manager of the company, introduced that with the implementation of the agreement, the agreed tax rate applicable to various products imported by the company will decrease year by year, and more taxes will be saved in the future.
Five years after RCEP takes effect, it is expected that the total value of tariff reductions and exemptions enjoyed by companies will exceed 10 million yuan.
According to the data released by Nanjing Customs, in January, Jiangsu Province imported a total of 25 shipments of RCEP goods with a value of 121 million yuan and enjoyed a tariff discount of 2.4281 million yuan; Nanjing Customs issued a total of 4,134 RCEP certificates of origin for enterprises in the province. The amount is 1.67 billion yuan, and the goods are expected to enjoy the importing country's tariff preference of 16.705 million yuan; 22 approved exporters have been reviewed and identified, 3 of which have issued 6 RCEP origin declarations, and the total value of the goods is 1.0976 million yuan. It is expected that the goods can be sold in the importing country. With the declaration, enjoy the preferential tariff of 10,900 yuan.
From a national perspective, data released by the General Administration of Customs recently showed that since the RCEP came into effect on January 1, as of January 25, my country's export enterprises have applied for certificates of origin and issued declarations of origin in a total of 24,695 copies, with a value of 92.5 The main commodities are chemicals, rice wine, shoes and boots.
The imported goods under 267 RCEP tickets were successfully cleared, with a value of 460 million yuan. The main commodities that benefited were chemicals and lubricants.
30 measures to help companies seize opportunities
More than a month after RCEP came into effect, dividends have been released faster. How to better grasp the opportunities brought by RCEP?
According to Yu Benlin, the Ministry of Commerce found in the survey that local governments and enterprises have high expectations and enthusiasm for seizing the opportunities of RCEP, but they are faced with some confusion and problems when connecting with the RCEP agreement and using the preferential policies of the agreement. It is hoped that relevant departments can strengthen guidance in a timely manner. .
To this end, the Ministry of Commerce, together with the National Development and Reform Commission and other six departments, jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on High-quality Implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement" (RCEP) (referred to as the "Opinions").
Centering on RCEP's open commitments and rules in the fields of goods trade, service trade, investment, rules of origin, intellectual property rights, e-commerce and other fields, this "Opinion" proposes a total of 30 measures to help local governments, industries and enterprises adapt to a more open regional market. environment and more adequate competition to provide guidance.
After RCEP came into effect, many enterprises actively applied for preferential certificates of origin under RCEP, and obtained real money and silver tariff concessions.
In order to ensure that the preferential rules of origin take effect, the Opinions put forward specific measures.
Yu Benlin said that enterprises should fully understand the commercial value of RCEP’s origin region accumulation rules, make good use of the lower threshold for RCEP’s origin, actively expand the production scale of intermediate products, and attract more competitive investors to cooperate and actively. Participate in the reconstruction of the industrial chain and supply chain in the region, push the production and service of the enterprise to the high end of the value chain, and pay attention to training professionals who are familiar with certificate application, self-declaration, and certified exporter certification.
The entry into force of RCEP will bring significant opportunities for the development of the manufacturing industry.
According to Luo Junjie, director of the Operation Monitoring and Coordination Bureau of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, more than 90% of RCEP's trade in goods will eventually achieve zero tariffs, of which industrial products account for about 82% of the tax items of trade in goods and more than 90% of the trade volume.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will support enterprises to make full use of the RCEP tariff reduction commitments and the rules of origin accumulation to expand the export of advantageous products such as textiles, light industry, electronic information, automobiles and parts, machinery and equipment, and open up new market space.
It will also support enterprises and RCEP member countries to carry out international advanced industrial level benchmarking, and increase investment in technological transformation and upgrading.
Encourage enterprises to strengthen the production division and cooperation with RCEP member countries, optimize the production system, and build an industrial chain supply chain that promotes each other and is mutually beneficial and win-win.
In order to help enterprises solve the problem of hindered enjoyment, the "Opinions" specifically proposes that the customs should implement the approved exporter system, and guide enterprises to make full use of the declaration of origin.
Di Jie, deputy director of the Tariff Department of the General Administration of Customs, said that the "Administrative Measures for Approved Exporters" have been implemented, and approved exporters can issue a declaration of origin on their own, without applying for a certificate of origin, to facilitate the export of enterprises.
As of January 25, 107 approved exporters have been identified, and 306 declarations of origin have been issued independently, with a value of 130 million yuan.
Bi Haijun, director of Qingdao Customs Tariff Department, reminded that my country and ASEAN, South Korea, New Zealand and other RCEP members have signed other free trade agreements and preferential trade arrangements in addition to RCEP, and a specific commodity can often be applied to multiple agreed tax rates. It is recommended that enterprises do a good job of comparing the tax reduction in the origin of the free trade agreement, and choose the appropriate free trade agreement to apply for the certificate to enjoy the benefits.
"We will provide import and export enterprises with the design of preferential schemes under different free trade agreements to ensure that enterprises can enjoy the policy dividends of RCEP and other free trade agreements to the maximum extent." Bi Haijun said.
It has officially entered into force for 11 countries
To share the RCEP dividends, more and more member states are joining.
So far, RCEP has officially entered into force in 11 countries including Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and South Korea, and the remaining member states will take effect one after another after completing the domestic approval process.
"Japanese companies have paid a lot of attention to RCEP. After RCEP takes effect, Japanese companies' exports to China, such as automobiles, food, agricultural products, and consumer goods, will enjoy more dividends." Said Kenji Mizuta, chief representative of the Shanghai Representative Office of Japan External Trade Organization. , the reduction of import tariffs has brought about an increase in personal consumption demand, and the growth of export trade has promoted the increase of economic activity of enterprises. The combination of the two can better stimulate the growth of Japan's domestic economy.
According to estimates by the Japanese government, RCEP is expected to eventually enable 91.5% of Japan's industrial products to be exempted from taxation, increase its GDP by 2.7%, and bring economic benefits that exceed other trade agreements that Japan has signed so far.
Take Japanese sake entering the Chinese market as an example, with the entry into force of RCEP, its tariff rate will be reduced from 40% to 38.1% in the first year, and will gradually be reduced to zero tariff within 20 years.
"This is good news," said Inoue Zaiji, director of Japan's Mitsui Noshou Brewery.
Inoue Zaiji said that Japanese sake is very popular in the Chinese market, and the import volume is increasing year by year.
However, before RCEP came into effect, the tariffs and other factors led to the high price of Japanese sake in the Chinese market. After the entry into force of the tariffs, the tariffs will be gradually lowered, and the price of entering the Chinese market will be reduced. It is hoped that the sales will become better and better in the future.
In ASEAN, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry of Malaysia issued an announcement saying that Malaysia has submitted the approval letter for RCEP to the ASEAN Secretariat.
From March 18, the RCEP will take effect in Malaysia.
In this regard, the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Malaysia expects that Malaysia will become the ASEAN member that benefits the most from RCEP in terms of exports, and service providers including e-commerce will also be able to expand into a broader market.
In addition, the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce expects that Cambodian agricultural products and industrial products will enjoy preferential tariff treatment.
RCEP can boost Cambodia's GDP by about 2 percentage points, with exports and investment increasing by 7.3% and 23.4% respectively.
Data from the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand shows that after RCEP takes effect, member states will exempt more than 30,000 Thai products from tariffs, of which more than 20,000 products can immediately enjoy zero-tariff treatment, which is conducive to the development of Thailand's export trade.
According to the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry, in 2020, 51% of Philippine exports, 68% of imports and 58% of foreign direct investment involved RCEP member countries.
After joining RCEP, the country's fruit, seafood, clothing, and paper industries will benefit significantly from exports to East Asian countries such as China, Japan, and South Korea.
For the global economy, the RCEP dividend is also worthy of attention.
At present, the economic volume and total trade volume of RCEP member countries account for about 30% of the world.
Economists from HSBC predict that by 2030, the global share of the RCEP economic circle will increase to 50%.
The UNCTAD report believes that the RCEP economic circle has "became the new focus of global trade" by virtue of its scale and vitality. In the face of the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, RCEP will help enhance the resilience of global trade.