Shanxi Huaxiang Group Co became the first exporter in North China's Shanxi province to be able to issue declarations of origin for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, in a move approved by Taiyuan Customs on Feb 23.

The signing of the RCEP agreement in November 2020 by 15 countries – including China – formed the world's largest trading bloc. The agreement, which came into effect on Jan 1, added a new mode of declaration of origin for approved exporters. 

After being reviewed and approved by customs, enterprises that have obtained the qualification of approved exporters can independently issue a RCEP declaration of origin. This has the same effect as the certificate of origin issued by the customs and enjoys a corresponding preferential tariff reduction.

"As an approved exporter, the company can issue a declaration of origin by itself in future. It is more convenient to enjoy RCEP tariff preferences and to arrange the production and export of goods more flexibly," said Wang Zhifang, executive deputy general manager of the heavy industry division of Shanxi Huaxiang Group Co.

Chen Ran, a customs officer at Taiyuan Customs, said the autonomous declaration of origin system was one of the highlights of the implementation of RCEP. It reflected the corporate credit management concept jointly being advocated by RCEP members – further reducing corporate costs and improving customs clearance convenience.

Shanxi trades a large share of its goods with RCEP member nations. It is widely regarded as having significant potential to conduct commerce with them in the areas of the digital economy, infrastructure construction, equipment manufacturing, coal chemical industry and agriculture. 

Moving forwards, plans are for Taiyuan Customs to continue to increase its publicity about tariff concessions and the rules of origin under RCEP, add to the ranks of Shanxi's approved exporters, and allow more regular businesses that are proficient in the rules of origin to fully enjoy the agreement's benefits.