The Yongkang office of Jinhua Customs issued a total of 7,310 certificates of origin under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, in the first half of the year, according to official data from the bureau.
These RCEP certificates of origin were given to $338.22 million in goods to be exported, helping enterprises receive a total tariff reduction of 109.92 million yuan ($16.16 million).
Among them, 50 enterprises located in Yongkang received a total of 315 RCEP certificates of origin for goods worth $20.9 million.
The RCEP, which was signed by 15 Asia Pacific countries and took effect on Jan 1, strives to promote regional and multilateral trade integration by lowering trade barriers through tariff and non-tariff measures.
Yongkang has kicked off a series of online and offline training sessions this year to help local enterprises enjoy the benefits brought about by the RCEP.
Weng Wei, manager of the foreign trade department of Zhejiang Ansheng Technology Co, said that since the implementation of the RCEP, the company has applied for 119 relevant certificates for exports to Japan, with a total value of about $12.49 million.
Weng said that the tariff rate was reduced from 3.9 percent to 3.2 percent for the company's exports to Japan. The RCEP certificates of origin for their thermos cups and bottles are expected to reduce tariffs by more than 1.1 million yuan this year.
Statistics show that in the first six months of this year, foreign trade between Yongkang and RCEP member countries increased by 13.25 percent year-on-year.
