Recently, a batch of sports shoes valued at 920,000 yuan were smoothly exported to Japan from Changning Weicheng Footwear. Leveraging the RCEP Certificate of Origin issued by Hengyang Customs, the batch of sports shoes enjoyed a tariff reduction of 32,000 yuan.

Amidst impacts from the international economic situation and shrinking demand in traditional markets such as Europe and America, Changning Weicheng Footwear seized opportunities in the expansive RCEP regional market, continuously expanding into the Japanese market to secure new increments. "With the RCEP Certificate of Origin, the tariff rate paid upon arrival in Japan decreased from 10% to 6.5%," explained Zhang Peng, head of customs affairs at the company. Since the implementation of RCEP, Hengyang Customs has issued RCEP Certificates of Origin for Japanese export orders totaling 74.32 million yuan, a 20% increase year-on-year, further stabilizing the Japanese market orders.

As the world's largest free trade agreement, RCEP officially took effect on January 1, 2022, and fully came into force across 15 signatory countries on June 2, 2023. With the continuous release of RCEP policy dividends, an increasing number of foreign trade enterprises are benefiting from tariff reductions, simplified customs clearance, and enhanced trade and investment facilitation. Particularly, economic and trade exchanges among member countries have become more active, fostering closer cooperation in regional industrial chains, promoting the free flow of production factors such as footwear and textile industries, and forming a more prosperous integrated regional market.

To assist Hengyang enterprises in seizing development opportunities, Hengyang Customs customizes preferential origin lists "one-on-one" for enterprises, meticulously cultivating qualifications for five advanced certified enterprises to obtain "Approved Exporter Registration," supporting enterprises in independently issuing origin declarations, and providing more convenient and efficient self-service printing of origin certificates, continuously enhancing the benefits of RCEP. As of now, Hengyang Customs has issued 164 RCEP Certificates of Origin, certifying goods valued at 106 million yuan, helping enterprises enjoy approximately 5.35 million yuan in destination country tariff reductions.

"At present, RCEP is actively supporting Hengyang foreign trade enterprises in expanding their international 'circle of friends,' enabling more foreign trade enterprises to 'ride the waves' in RCEP member country markets," said a relevant official from Hengyang Customs, emphasizing further efforts to enhance service levels, guide enterprises in effectively utilizing RCEP policy dividends, and assist enterprises in leveraging their industrial positioning and unique advantages to make continuous advancements in supporting industries such as precision parts processing, electronic components, and new energy vehicle manufacturing, thereby facilitating greater leaps forward in Hengyang's foreign trade within the RCEP framework.

Translator: Jing