Firms must be told RCEP benefits regional trade

At a conference on Wednesday, the State Council, China's Cabinet, stressed the importance of the Cumulative Rules of Origin in lowering tariff thresholds and promoting regional trade cooperation.

That applies well to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership cumulative rules. For example, after the RCEP comes into effect, a Chinese company that exports shoes to the Republic of Korea will be exempted from tariffs as long as the materials from China, ROK, Indonesia and Thailand account for more than 40 percent of the final shoes.

The Regional Value Content (RVC) rule of 40 percent will greatly prompt regional trade in this way. Besides the above-mentioned shoe example, the tariffs on China's exports of clothes, such as sweaters and women's jeans, will enjoy a tariff cut of 50 percent.

For Chinese consumers, that's good news, too. The RCEP requires all members to ensure fresh items such as seafood, fruit, vegetables, meat, eggs and milk pass through customs within six hours. Of course, import enterprises will be competing with one another, which will improve services and lower prices.

To sum up, the RCEP, especially its Cumulative Rules of Origin, will provide more certainties for the supply chain of the whole region. That is significant progress considering the uncertainties facing the world because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It should be noted that some government agencies and import-export enterprises are unfamiliar with the RCEP rules. That's why the State Council requires local governments to strengthen related training to help enterprises know more about the rules.

That's what local governments must do in the near future. They must train their staff well and seize the opportunities for enterprises to enhance cross-border trade. Besides, local governments must accelerate building a better business environment for both local and enterprises of RCEP members, which is a responsibility required by the agreement.

That in turn requires local governments to improve their governance, simplify administrative procedures, and let the market play a greater role. Only in this way will the RCEP standards be met.