Companies based in Zibo city – located in East China's Shandong province – have been boosted financially in the wake of the new landmark Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP trade agreement, which took effect on Jan 1.
RCEP is a huge trade accord that has paved the way for significant reductions in tariffs between Asia-Pacific members, including China.
In response, in the January-August period Zibo Customs issued 2,560 RCEP certificates of origin – a kind of passport for goods – to 215 export enterprises, involving goods worth 790 million yuan ($114.66 million).
The roll-out of the RCEP trade agreement is widely said to have provided local import and export enterprises with a keen advantage in international competition.
The production lines for instance at Luthai Textile Co Ltd – a leading enterprise in the local textiles sector – are now running at full capacity, to accelerate the output of products for export to Japan, Vietnam and other countries.
Zibo Customs officials supervise the production of textiles at Luthai Textile Co Ltd. [Photo/zbnews.net]
"Zibo Customs took the initiative to inform us about the rules for RCEP certificates of origin and the arrangements for tariff reductions," said Wang Li, the company's foreign trade manager.
"With the certificate, the tariff was reduced from 5.6 percent to 4.6 percent and is going to zero within 10 years for our company," Wang added.
To help companies make comprehensive analyses of preferential trade agreements and maximize the outcomes, Zibo Customs has organized on-site and online training to publicize RCEP policies for foreign trading enterprises under its jurisdiction.
Meanwhile, Zibo Customs has analyzed the current tariff reductions for a raft of products, under various free trade agreements signed by RCEP members. It is using the information to guide companies to explore the market for RCEP member countries and promote the exports of competitive products.
In addition, Zibo Customs has carried out door-to-door visits to leading foreign trading enterprises to explain and guide the application of RCEP-related policies at great length.
"The training is informative and helpful for us to understand and apply RCEP policies in a timely manner," said Han Jie, manager of foreign trading firm Dongyue Group.
"We'll make full use of these policies and expand our foreign trade," Han added.
