MOFCOM Takes Measures to Help Industrial Enterprises Seize RCEP Opportunities

On May 31, 2024, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) issued the Circular on Effectively Drawing upon Good Experiences and Good Practices to Implement the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in High Quality (the “Circular”), with immediate effect.

Highlighting measures in four aspects, the Circular calls for establishing RCEP-related enterprise service centers, enterprise service zones and other public platforms, and taking the initiative to serve enterprises up at the front by formulating an implementation list of “one-stop” public services across the entire RCEP-related chain and process, opening RCEP consulting service hotlines and windows and so on. The MOFCOM will work with other entities to sort out and issue the “Three Lists” of import items with immediate zero tariffs, export items with immediate zero tariffs, and potential advantageous goods in relation to RCEP members, so as to provide a reference for enterprises to accurately search and match the best treaty-based tax rates and locate import and export countries. It will also provide enterprises with “one-stop” solutions such as online data queries and consulting services to make it easier for them to enjoy preferential tariff policies, guide enterprises to reduce import costs by purchasing intermediate products first and processing them into finished products for export in the RCEP region to enjoy the “double reduction” of tariffs on raw material imports and finished product exports, and promote localities to get deeply involved in industrial and supply chain cooperation in the RCEP region. It will also promote the “double cultivation” of authorized economic operators (AEOs) and approved exporters among enterprises.