Inner Mongolia leverages RCEP to expand in overseas markets
A member of staff at the customs office issues a certificate of origin for a shipment of sodium glutamate to be exported to Japan. [Photo provided to en.hhhtnews.com]
In the first two months of the year, North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region exported 350 million yuan ($54.95 million) worth of agricultural products to member countries of the new RCEP regional trade accord – a year-on-year increase of 17 percent – of which exports to Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar and the Philippines all more than doubled, according to statistics from the Hohhot customs office.
The data showed that the exports mainly included sunflower seeds, tomato paste, nuts and fruit juices.
On Jan 1 RCEP certificates of origin – a kind of commercial passport for traded products – took effect for the six ASEAN member countries of Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as for the four non-ASEAN member countries of China, Japan, New Zealand and Australia.
It is expected that the RCEP members will implement tax reductions in line with the provisions of the agreement and that more than 90 percent of the goods trading in the regions will eventually enjoy zero tariffs.
China will eventually reduce its tariffs on 86 percent of Japanese products to zero, while Japan will eventually reduce tariffs on 88 percent of Chinese products to zero.
Customs officers inspect exported agricultural products. [Photo provided to en.hhhtnews.com]
As a free trade agreement with the largest combined population, the largest economic and trade scale and the most development potential in the world, the RCEP accord is said to have brought major new opportunities for Inner Mongolia's agricultural products to further open up in international markets.
In the first two months of 2022, Hohhot customs issued 14 RCEP preferential certificates of origin for agricultural products valued at $2.52 million, accounting for 24.13 percent and 49.95 percent of all RCEP preferential certificates of origin, respectively.