Xi'an Customs, the provincial customs of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, has recently strengthened the study and publicity of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) rules among local enterprises.
On Nov 15, 2020, the RCEP, the world's largest free-trade deal, was officially signed by 15 Asia-Pacific countries. After the agreement came into effect, more than 90 percent of goods in the region had tariffs removed entirely.
Under the RCEP, tariff reduction, cumulative rules of origin, and independent declaration of enterprises' origins have resulted in substantial tariff reductions and brought customs clearance convenience to Shaanxi import and export enterprises, and enhanced the international competitiveness of Shaanxi manufacturing.
Xi'an Customs is helping Shaanxi enterprises make full use of the free-trade agreement's favorable policies, self-service certificate printing, and smart audits.
Jiang Yan, the customs manager of Shaanxi Shengyi Technology Co, said that immediately after the signing of the RCEP, Xi'an Customs provided the company with a consultation and Q&A channel, and instructed the company to use the China Free Trade Zone service network to check and compare differences in tax reductions.
This has helped the company become more familiar with the rules and content of the RCEP agreement, and use the rules of accumulation of origin to broaden its selection of suppliers to all RCEP member countries, Jiang added.
From January to May of this year, Xi'an Customs issued 3,759 certificates of origin for goods exported to RCEP member countries, amounting to 2.06 billion yuan ($317.95 million), a year-on-year increase of 11.62 percent.