RCEP helps boost Suzhou's foreign trade through tariff reductions

Foreign trade enterprises in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province have benefited greatly from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement and saved more than 10 million yuan ($1.48 million) in tariffs since the agreement took effect on Jan 1, local media outlets reported.

Statistics show that Suzhou Customs issued 3,549 RCEP certificates of origin worth 917 million yuan in the first half of the year, with products estimated to enjoy tariff subsidies totaling 11 million yuan at their export destinations.

For example, Suzhou Top Parts Electronics Co, which was founded in 2001 and is engaged in the manufacturing of new-type electronic parts and the development of special materials for semiconductor components, has benefited from the reduction in tariffs brought about by RCEP and seen its exports to Japan in the first half of the year exceed 5.87 million yuan, a year-on-year growth of 12.32 percent.

Suzhou Customs will continue to analyze the city's foreign trade climate, promote the approved exporter system, advance the business model that combines intelligent approval and self-printing of REP certificates, enable its system to automatically verify the RCEP certificate around the clock, and increase the global competitiveness of local companies.