Four years after RCEP came into effect, Qingyuan commodities are leveraging policy support to expand new opportunities in foreign trade.

On January 12th, it was reported that in the four years since the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Qingyuan Customs, under Guangzhou Customs, has issued over 3,000 RCEP certificates of origin, helping enterprises enjoy export benefits worth 1.91 billion yuan. As the world’s largest free trade agreement, the RCEP continues to release policy dividends. Qingyuan enterprises have seized the RCEP policy opportunities, with footwear, bamboo shoots and their products benefiting from optimized regional trade rules and tax reductions, continuously opening up new overseas markets and further expanding their export scale. Footwear is a traditional and important export category for Qingyuan. Under the RCEP framework, footwear enterprises have reduced regional trade costs and enhanced product competitiveness. Huang Xuewei, customs manager of Qingyuan Guangshuo Shoes Co., Ltd., explained, “Thanks to the approved exporter system, the declaration of origin issued by our company has the same validity as the certificate issued by customs. This makes our order production and delivery more flexible, and customs clearance more efficient, allowing our import and export to maintain a growth trend.” Furthermore, the customs’ “intelligent review + self-service printing” service and electronic data networking measures have enabled “instant reporting, instant review, and instant issuance” of certificates of origin, allowing companies to complete all procedures without leaving their premises, further improving customs clearance facilitation. [Image of bamboo shoots and their products] Specialty agricultural products such as bamboo shoots and their products have also benefited from the RCEP tariff reduction policy, opening up new prospects in the regional market. Tang Jingwen, the customs declaration manager of Songdefeng (Qingyuan) Food Co., Ltd., stated, “Before the RCEP came into effect, our dried bamboo shoots, shredded bamboo shoots, and other products faced high tariff barriers for export. Now, tariffs are being reduced year by year, and will gradually be reduced to zero in the future, making the price advantage of our products in overseas markets increasingly prominent.” The tangible tariff reductions have earned the company a number of long-term overseas clients. To further expand the scope of enterprises benefiting from the RCEP policy, Qingyuan Customs has comprehensively reviewed the “potential beneficiary list” and conducted targeted follow-up guidance. Through multiple channels, they have explained the rules of origin and tariff reduction arrangements to enterprises, formed an expert “consultation team,” and formulated “one-enterprise-one-policy” benefit plans to help enterprises choose the right agreement and make full use of the policies. With the active promotion of the customs, more and more Qingyuan enterprises are able to fully utilize the RCEP policy and gain greater development space in the international market. With the continued and in-depth implementation of the RCEP policy, it is believed that Qingyuan’s high-quality products will shine even brighter in the global market, injecting new vitality into the local economic development.