On June 2, the "Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement" (RCEP) officially came into effect for the Philippines. So far, all 15 member countries in the agreement have completed the entry into force procedures. The world's largest free trade zone has entered a new stage of development, and the regional integration market It is also moving towards a more prosperous prospect.
In the past few days, customs around the world are busy issuing RCEP certificates of origin, and foreign trade companies are also thinking about the possible benefits of enjoying dividends and new gains in market development this year.
At midnight on the 2nd, Shenzhen Customs issued the RCEP certificate of origin for the Philippines for a batch of plastic accessories (for earphones) of Shenzhen Guanlai Electronics Co., Ltd. At the same time, this batch of goods also successfully cleared customs at Huanggang Port, becoming the first customs clearance goods in Shenzhen after RCEP took full effect.
Nearly 2,000 kilometers away, just after midnight, at the RCEP Shandong Enterprise Service Center located in Shibei District, Qingdao, Qingdao Customs officers issued RCEP certificates of origin for a batch of container flexitanks exported to the Philippines by Qingdao Langfu Technology Co., Ltd. This is the first RCEP certificate of origin for the Philippines issued by Shandong after RCEP came into force for the Philippines.
"This batch of goods weighs about 5.6 tons. With this certificate of origin, the tariff rate of the goods can be reduced from 3% to zero when they pass customs in the Philippines." Ma Wenbo, chairman of Langfu Technology, said that the value of this batch of flexitanks is about 70,000 yuan , With the RCEP certificate of origin issued by the customs, the goods can enjoy a tax reduction of more than 2,000 yuan when they pass the customs in the Philippines.
On this day, Changzhou Customs, a subsidiary of Nanjing Customs, also issued the first certificate of origin for export to the Philippines under RCEP in Jiangsu Province. With this certificate, a batch of men's shirts worth US$14,800 exported by Chenfeng (Jiangsu) Garment Co., Ltd. can enjoy zero-tariff treatment in the Philippines.
Turning back the time, on November 15, 2020, the 10 ASEAN countries, Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand signed the RCEP, and promoted the agreement to come into effect on January 1, 2022. The total population, total GDP, and trade in goods of the RCEP region account for about 30% of the world's total.
Zheng Wei, an associate researcher at the China Service Outsourcing Research Center, told a reporter from the Economic Information Daily that the effective implementation of RCEP requires member states to complete domestic approval procedures, so the specific effective time varies. After the RCEP officially took effect for the Philippines, all 15 member states have completed the entry into force procedures. After that, more than 90% of the trade in goods in the region will eventually achieve zero tariffs, which will greatly reduce the trade costs of enterprises. Accelerate the formation and promote the prosperity of the regional economy.
In fact, since RCEP came into effect in early 2022, the economic and trade potential in the region has been gradually released.
——From the perspective of trade, in 2022, the total import and export volume between my country and other RCEP members will be 12.95 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.5%, accounting for 30.8% of my country's total foreign trade import and export; from January to April 2023, the total import and export volume between my country and other RCEP members The total import and export volume was 4.12 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.3%, accounting for 30.9% of my country's total foreign trade import and export.
——From the perspective of attracting foreign capital, in 2022, my country’s actual investment in other RCEP members was 23.53 billion U.S. dollars, a year-on-year increase of 23.1%; from January to April 2023, my country’s actual investment in other RCEP members was nearly 8.9 billion U.S. dollars, a year-on-year increase of more than 13.7%.
——From the perspective of enterprise benefits, in 2022, Chinese enterprises will enjoy export value of 235.3 billion yuan under RCEP, and can enjoy tariff reduction of 1.58 billion yuan from the importing country; enjoy import value of 65.3 billion yuan, and tax reduction The payment is 1.55 billion yuan. In the first quarter of 2023, Chinese enterprises enjoy export value of 62.29 billion yuan under RCEP, and can enjoy tariff reduction of 930 million yuan from the importing country; enjoy import value of 18.25 billion yuan, and tax reduction of 480 million yuan.
Behind the series of numbers is the vitality and great prospects of regional cooperation, as well as the real gains of enterprises. According to Zheng Wei, during the survey, it was found that many companies have already enjoyed the dividends brought by RCEP. He gave an example that the import and export enterprises mainly benefited from the accumulation rules of the region of origin. Many export enterprises in Beijing, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Shandong, Guangdong and other provinces and cities with large foreign trade scales have obtained tariffs by virtue of the RCEP certificate of origin issued by the customs. The exemption has saved a lot of export costs for enterprises, improved the international competitiveness of related products, and also enhanced the enthusiasm of enterprises to expand the market.
On May 20, Foshan Yiao Technology Industrial Co., Ltd. successfully applied for an RCEP certificate of origin to the Foshan Customs Office in Nanhai, which is affiliated to Guangzhou Customs. A batch of spring mattresses worth about 240,000 yuan exported to Japan can enjoy Zero tariff concessions. As a foreign trade enterprise that develops and manufactures environmentally-friendly bedding, the company is aiming at the preferential opportunities of RCEP policy, and is continuously increasing the development of markets in Japan, Southeast Asia and other countries and regions to improve brand awareness.
Langfu Technology is also thinking about possible new gains this year. Ma Wenbo said that after RCEP takes effect for the Philippines, it is expected that this part of exports will reduce tariff costs by about 80,000 yuan this year. In addition, benefiting from the expectation of tariff reduction, the company's export orders to the Philippines are expected to increase by 10% this year.
What can be glimpsed from the vitality of enterprises is the bright prospect of a more prosperous regional economy. Chen Chao, deputy director of the International Department of the Ministry of Commerce, said that the full entry into force of RCEP will greatly promote the free flow of resource elements such as goods, services, capital, technology, talents and data information in the region, and promote the gradual formation of a more prosperous regional integration. market. "This is conducive to my country's promotion of institutional opening-up at a higher starting point, and it is also conducive to localities, industries and enterprises to expand new space for international economic and trade cooperation."
Gao Lingyun, a researcher at the Institute of World Economics and Politics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told reporters that as a milestone of regional economic integration, RCEP created a huge market. With the full implementation of RCEP, intra-regional trade and investment links will become closer, and enterprises and related industries will gain broader development space. “On the one hand, trade costs can be effectively reduced through tariff concessions; on the other hand, through the RCEP accumulation rules of origin and more flexible certification procedures, the regional industrial chain supply chain can be consolidated and strengthened, and regional economic integration will become more prosperous and more sustainable. development in a high-quality direction.”
