The implementation of the RCEP agreement is boosting Hai'an's exports. [Photo/WeChat account: hafbwx]

Since the implementation on Jan 1, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP – the largest free trade agreement in the world, which will slash the tariffs of its member nations – has been benefiting Chinese cities.

Hai'an – a county-level city administered by Nantong in East China's Jiangsu province – has to date issued 164 RCEP certificates of origin for cargo worth $7.28 million.

They cover goods that were exempt from $58,000 in tariffs.

The RCEP agreement – with China as a key signatory – was signed off on by 15 Asia-Pacific countries on Nov 15, 2020. After coming into effect, the accord is projected to provide a major boost to international trade and investment and contribute to the global economic recovery.

It's expected that more and more enterprises will benefit from the agreement. One of them is Jiangsu Changlong Decorative Material Technical Co Ltd, located in Hai'an, which mainly exports plastic floor tiles to Japan. As the RCEP agreement gains ground, the company has applied and received 93 certificates of origin for shipments worth $2.3 million.

"The tariff rate of our plastic floor tiles exported to Japan has dropped from 3 percent to 2.8 percent and will drop to 0.3 percent year by year. The bilateral benefits brought by RCEP have added vitality and brought new opportunities to our expansion in the Japanese market," said Wu Qianyi, an executive at Changlong.

Moving forward, the Hai'an office of Nantong Customs and the Hai'an commerce bureau will focus on the imports and exports of RCEP goods and provide guidance for enterprises to expand into overseas markets via the trade accord.