In July, it has been half a year since the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) came into effect. In the past six months, against the backdrop of intensified geopolitical conflicts, challenges to international economic and trade rules, and the partial spread of the COVID-19 epidemic, RCEP has shown strong vigor and vitality. From the “construction” of 10 countries at the beginning of the year to the current “joint effort” of 13 countries, the “friend circle” of RCEP member countries has continued to expand, and the interconnection of regional economic exchanges has brought benefits to the vast number of import and export enterprises and consumers.
According to statistics from Beijing Customs, in the first half of this year, 770 million yuan of imported and exported goods in Beijing have benefited from RCEP, and 687 million yuan of goods exported by exporters have enjoyed tariff reductions of about 6.87 million yuan in importing countries. Especially as China and Japan, two major trading countries, established a free trade agreement relationship for the first time, the effect of bilateral trade promotion has appeared rapidly. According to Wang Wei, deputy director of the Beijing Customs Tariff Department, Japan has now become the largest destination country for RCEP visas in Beijing, with 1,602 visas issued, with a value of US$103.5127 million.
China Textile International Garment Co., Ltd. is a subsidiary of China Textile Group engaged in trade with Japan. It mainly exports work clothes, trousers, shirts and other products. “The entry into force of RCEP is a major benefit to our company! With the certificate of origin issued by the customs, the tariff of goods in Japan has been reduced from 10% to 8.2%, which is equivalent to a 20% discount, which is equivalent to increasing corporate income and product competition. The power will be further improved.” Duan Tao, general manager of the company, said that the tariff will be reduced year by year in the future, and will eventually be reduced to 0, which makes our foreign trade business more confident and confident.
Beijing Customs is also actively cooperating with the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce, and jointly with the Beijing CBD Management Committee, relying on the single window for international trade, to jointly create a “economic and trade rules calculator”. According to reports, the calculator can independently analyze the comparative advantages and origin rules of import and export commodities in different free trade agreements through a visual platform, which is convenient for enterprises to master and apply economic and trade rules, and intuitively feel the RCEP preferential tax rate and benefit range.
As the world’s largest institutional open platform, RCEP accounts for about 30% of the world’s population, economic aggregate and trade volume, and contains huge market potential. After the implementation of RCEP, more than 90% of the trade in goods in the region will eventually achieve zero tariffs. With the entry into force of RCEP, the development of the industry ushered in new opportunities.
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport is one of the three major aviation hubs in China, with a global route network covering 23 routes with other RCEP member countries. Imported products such as Japanese home appliances, Southeast Asian fruits, and Korean beauty products have entered the Chinese consumer market more and more under the incentives of the RCEP taking effect. Domestic consumers can buy related products at a more desirable price and at a faster speed. In the first half of the year, more than 100,000 tons of goods from other RCEP member countries entered through the port of Guangzhou Baiyun Airport, a year-on-year increase of 49.8%.
According to the statistics of Guangzhou Customs, in the first half of this year, enterprises declared to the Customs to import 2.91 billion yuan of goods under the RCEP item, and enjoyed a tariff discount of 58.984 million yuan. The preferential products were mainly hot-rolled sheets, engine parts and fruits , mainly from Japan, Thailand and other countries.
The implementation of RCEP has not only brought tax incentives to foreign trade enterprises, but also improved customs clearance efficiency. A few days ago, under the supervision of Taicang Customs affiliated to Nanjing Customs, Northeast PetroChina International Co., Ltd. imported 2,002.6 tons of lubricating base oil from South Korea using the RCEP declaration of origin and passed the customs smoothly. It is expected to enjoy preferential tax reduction of about 135,500 yuan.
“In the past, we imported lubricating base oils from Korean manufacturers, which contained high non-South Korean ingredients such as Japan, and were not able to enjoy preferential tax rates under the restrictions of the China-Korea Free Trade Agreement.” Northeast China Petroleum International Business Co., Ltd. Gan Xiaoyu, the company’s business manager, said that after the implementation of RCEP, under the guidance of the customs, we learned that according to the RCEP accumulation rules, materials imported into the member states of the agreement can be regarded as origin materials and can enjoy preferential tax rates. At the same time, foreign shippers are also RCEP-approved exporters, and can issue a declaration of origin at any time, which is convenient for us to arrange logistics more flexibly. “Since this year, imports through RCEP have enjoyed preferential tax reduction of a total of 551,100 yuan, reducing operating costs. In the next few years, we plan to further expand our business in RCEP countries.”
“Since the implementation of RCEP, foreign trade companies have ushered in broader FTA policy opportunities. Helping companies make full use of RCEP’s preferential policies and actively explore the international market is an important starting point for maintaining a stable and long-term open economy.” Nanjing Customs Zhou Yusheng, director of the Customs Department, said that he will go deep into key enterprises in the textile, chemical, electronics, automobile, new energy and other industries to tailor the “best preferential combination” to promote the expansion of the export of advantageous products and the import of key technology products. (Reporter Gu Yang)
