On January 1, 2022, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) entered into force. At 12:10 on the same day, Chengdu Customs Jincheng Customs successfully issued Sichuan's first RCEP certificate of origin for a batch of aluminum cans exported to Thailand by Zero Temperature Technology (Chengdu) Co., LTD. This move marks the first time RCEP was landed in Sichuan and marks a historic milestone in the development of Sichuan's foreign trade.
The total population, economic aggregate and export of RCEP member countries account for about 30 percent of the global total.After the RCEP takes effect, over 90 percent of trade in goods in the region will gradually be tariff-free, either immediately or within 10 years.Data from Chengdu Customs shows that from January to November 2021, Sichuan's import and export value to RCEP countries was 265.25 billion yuan, accounting for 31.1% of Sichuan's total foreign trade. More than 3,100 enterprises in The province conducted trade with RCEP countries.The arrival of RCEP in Sichuan will have a far-reaching impact on the development of foreign trade enterprises.
This time zero Low Temperature Technology (Chengdu) Co., Ltd. got the first RCEP certificate in Sichuan, the business commissioner Wang Wei said excitedly, "a few months ago, I saw the policy publicity of RCEP, havingnot expectedto catch up with the first RCEP certificate in Sichuan, this batch of goods are urgently shipped to Thailand, the tariff directly decreased from 9% to 0,thanks to the customs staff working overtime on New Year's Day to issue certificates for us. The foreign trade development brought us real dividends."
RCEP procedures are not complicated.It is reported that next, customs facilitation measures will be further upgraded, through the "intelligent audit" superimposed "self-help printing", enterprises can achieve a few minutes to apply for a certificate, certificate application procedures can be completed at home.When applying for RCEP certificates, enterprises can choose to apply for RCEP certificates at the customs service site or by themselves. Certificates exported to Singapore, Thailand, Japan, New Zealand and Australia can be printed by themselves from now on. Other countries will also apply for RCEP certificates soon.
After the RCEP takes effect, over 90 percent of trade in goods in the region will gradually be tariff-free, either immediately or within 10 years.This means that trade liberalization in goods among RCEP members will be significantly enhanced, and trade costs and commodity prices within the region will soon fall. This will give a strong boost to trade and investment and improve the overall business environment.
How to seize the RCEP opportunity?Chen Hong, deputy director of the Customs Office of Chengdu Customs, said that foreign trade enterprises should strengthen their study of RCEP rules in light of their own conditions, ensure that they are properly assigned to the RCEP, make full use of the policies, fully enjoy the benefits and advance the layout.Specifically, the same goods from the same country of origin may be subject to different tariff rates and rules of origin under different preferentialtrade agreements.Enterprises should compare and select tariff reduction levels and rules of origin under different preferential trade agreements for their own imports and exports.
Chen also said that through the RCEP accumulation rules, the boundary of the enterprise qualification for RCEP origin grows wider, and as the threshold is low, the enterprise profit is expected to increase. Finished goods prices are expected to decline, and some capital-intensive industries ininitial processing, manufacturingand so onmay transfer to southeast Asia,andthe industrial chainmay transfer from domestic type into a multinational type.Enterprises should pay close attention to changes in the industrial chain and supply chain, and make plans and layouts in advance.(Chen Min Photoby Chengdu Customs)
