Lishui city is moving to take advantage of the introduction of RCEP, the largest free trade agreement in the world, which is now in force. [Photo by Shi Yu/China Daily]

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement, or RCEP, took effect on Jan 1 in China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and six ASEAN member countries – Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – marking the launch of the world's biggest free trade deal.

Zhejiang Ruichang Monofil Technology Co Ltd became the first enterprise in the city of Lishui, located in East China's Zhejiang province, to enjoy the RCEP preferential policy. Many others are set to follow.

Products exported to RCEP member countries can enjoy preferential tariffs based on their certificates of origin. The RCEP accord will bring down tariffs to zero on more than 90 percent of the goods traded between members – creating a powerful free-trade bloc covering Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region.

Thanks to RCEP, Zhejiang Ruichang Monofil Technology's latest nylon monofilament exports to Japan enjoyed preferential tariff treatment of 3.9 percent, down 0.4 percentage points from the previous basic tariff rate of 4.3 percent. 

According to statistics from Lishui customs, from January to November last year, the trade volume of Lishui's exports to RCEP member countries was 4.21 billion yuan ($659.95 million), while imports from these countries came in at 2.65 billion yuan.

Based on that foreign trade volume, RCEP is projected to save about 367 million yuan in tariffs for enterprises in Lishui every year.