According to the provisions of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the agreement needs to be approved by at least 9 of the 15 members, including at least 6 ASEAN members and China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. in at least 3 countries.
On November 2, the ASEAN Secretariat, the custodian of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), issued a notice announcing that Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam Six ASEAN member states and four non-ASEAN member states including China, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia have formally submitted approval letters to the ASEAN Secretary-General, reaching the threshold for the agreement to enter into force. According to the provisions of the agreement, RCEP will enter into force for the above ten countries on January 1, 2022.
The agreement’s entry into force is of great significance for further promoting intra-regional free trade, stabilizing industrial and supply chains, and promoting China’s high-level opening up.
We interpret RCEP’s key rules of origin for you:
1. Accumulation rules
“Accumulation” is an important supplementary rule, which means that when determining the origin qualification of a product, materials originating from other parties to the FTA used in the production of the product are regarded as belonging to the party where the product is produced. Originating materials, treating the free trade area as a whole and promoting free trade within the region.
The cumulative rule essentially lowers the threshold for products to obtain origin qualifications. It has a “softener” effect and helps encourage manufacturers to allocate production resources within the regions of each party. , strengthen the coordination of upstream and downstream industries, which is conducive to the development of regional industrial economy and intra-industry trade.
2. Minimal content rule
The minimal content rule is also called ” “Tolerance Rule”, according to Article 7 of the Agreement, if part of the non-originating materials used in production does not meet the criteria for changing the tariff classification, as long as the value or weight of this part of the non-originating materials does not exceed 10%, then the goods can still be Obtain origin qualification.
The de minimis content under RCEP can be measured by value and is applicable to all goods in Chapter 1 to Chapter 97, that is, it is allowed to be used in the production of goods without any change in tariff classification. The value of non-originating materials does not exceed 10% of the FOB price of the goods; the small content of goods (textile raw materials and textile products) in chapters 50 to 63 can also be calculated by weight, that is, no change in tariff classification is allowed. The weight of non-originating materials does not exceed 10% of the total weight of the goods.
3. Enterprise’s independent declaration of origin
According to Article 10 of the Agreement With six “certificates of origin”, RCEP will allow the use of certificates of origin issued by visa agencies, declarations of origin issued by approved exporters, and declarations of origin issued by exporters or manufacturers.
This marks that my country’s certificate of origin system will gradually transform from a model in which the certificate of origin is the main certificate of origin to one in which authorized agencies issue certificates of origin and companies issue independent declarations of origin in parallel. mode. The introduction and vigorous promotion of the independent declaration of origin system is one of the important features of high-level free trade agreements, which can greatly save the administrative costs of the government and the operating costs of enterprises, and further improve the timeliness of customs clearance of goods.
In addition, according to the text of the RCEP Agreement, in the next 10 years and no longer than 20 years, our country will also introduce no entry barriers for any exporter or manufacturer. All merchants can issue a declaration of origin. This model will exempt export enterprises from the relevant procedures of applying for a certificate of origin of goods or applying to the customs for approved exporter qualifications, further improve the efficiency of international trade logistics, reduce enterprise operating costs, and is of great significance to my country’s export enterprises in improving their international competitiveness.
4. Concept of back-to-back certificate of origin
Agreement 19 Article stipulates the issuance requirements and verification of back-to-back certificates of origin. The back-to-back certificate of origin is actually a certificate that the goods still maintain their origin status without being processed beyond the provisions of this article. Its essence is the endorsement of the certificate or statement of origin.
RCEP back-to-back certificate of origin is a certificate of origin that the intermediate contracting party can flexibly issue in batches and installments for goods that have been issued by the original exporting party. Other contracting parties can still enjoy preferential tariff treatment when importing, which greatly improves the flexibility of enterprises in sales strategies and logistics arrangements.
Customs suggestions
The rules of origin under the RCEP agreement are complicated The characteristics of nature and diversity provide more possibilities and choices for operators to optimize supply chain layout in the Asia-Pacific and even the world. It is recommended that enterprises strengthen their study of RCEP rules of origin, make arrangements for production and logistics in advance based on the characteristics of their own products and industrial chains, establish a concept of transnational industrial development, optimize industrial layout, improve corporate management efficiency, and make good use of free trade agreements. discount. </p
