RCEP policies bolster business in Ningbo

Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang province has issued more than 18,000 Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) certificates of origin for exports worth 5.8 billion yuan ($892.3 million) to RCEP member states in the first three quarters of this year.

The certificates have resulted in 58.08 million yuan in tariff savings for companies involved during the nine-month period, official statistics from customs authorities show.

One beneficiary of the certificates is Ningbo Gangtai Plastic Products Co Ltd, which recently obtained a certificate of origin that led to a reduction of 2,000 yuan in tariffs for plastic bags it exported to Japan.

According to the company's manager Wang Pei, the favorable tax benefits brought by the RCEP certificate of origin has been a boon for the company that primarily exports to RCEP member states.

In the first nine months of this year, Gangtai was exempted from about 120,000 yuan in tariffs through 66 certificates of origin.

During the same period, Zhejiang Xinjing Import and Export Co Ltd, another company from Ningbo that had applied for 278 RCEP certificates of origin, saved about 500,000 yuan in duties.

The RCEP involves 10 ASEAN member states, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. The 15 states account for about 30 percent of the world's total population, gross domestic product and trade.

More than 90 percent of goods traded between member countries will eventually be subjected to no tariffs, according to the agreement.