The General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China also issued a notice recently stating that, starting from December 1, 2021, the Generalized Preference System Certificate of Origin will no longer be issued for goods exported to EU member states, the United Kingdom, Canada, Turkey, Ukraine, and Liechtenstein. It confirmed the news that European countries no longer grant China's GSP tariff preferential treatment.
The full name of the Generalized System of Preferences is the Generalized System of Preferences. It is a universal, non-discriminatory and non-reciprocal tariff preferential system for the export of manufactured and semi-manufactured products from developing countries and beneficiary countries in developed countries. .
This kind of high tariff reduction and exemption has once provided a great boost to China’s foreign trade growth and industrial development. However, with the gradual improvement of China’s economic and international trade status, more and more countries and regions have decided not to grant China tariff preferences. .
Does the abolition of the Generalized System of Preferences have much impact on China?
Seeing this, some people may ask, as for the United States, does the United States also cancel the preferential tax rate for China's Generalized System of Preferences?
First of all, the 40 countries that have granted my country’s GSP tariff preferences do not include the United States. In other words, the United States has not granted China's Generalized System of Preferences treatment, so it can't be said of canceling it.
At the same time, both China and the United States are members of the WTO, which grant each other most-favored-nation treatment and apply the most-favored-nation tax rate. Although the United States has not granted GSP treatment to Chinese goods, Chinese goods still have strong competitiveness in the American consumer market.
This time the 32 countries no longer sign inclusive benefits to China, which means that China has "graduated" from the GSP. This is the world's recognition of China's development.
Although it is said that abolishing the "Generalized System of Preferences" treatment will indeed make some Chinese export companies lose tariff preferences, on the whole, China has already passed the stage of relying on tariff preferences to win the market, so this time Western countries canceled the GSP for China. The preferential tax rate will not have a big impact on Chinese exports.
At the same time, China will not indulge in some preferential treatment given by others, and choose to take the initiative to speed up the expansion of the "friend circle" of the free trade zone.
RCEP takes effect early next year
Recently, the ASEAN Secretariat, the custodian of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), issued a notice announcing that Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and other 6 ASEAN member states and China, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, etc. 4 Two non-ASEAN member states have formally submitted an approval letter to the Secretary-General of ASEAN, which has reached the threshold for the agreement to enter into force.
According to the agreement, RCEP will take effect for the ten countries mentioned above on January 1, 2022.
RCEP covers 30% of the world’s population, 29% of GDP, and 27% of trade volume. After the RCEP takes effect, it will be the world’s largest economic circle with the largest population, the largest economic and trade scale, and the greatest potential for development;
It is also the world's largest free trade zone. One can imagine what kind of overseas markets RCEP can bring to China.
RCEP rules are more comprehensive than those of WTO and can greatly promote the flow of goods, technology, capital, and talents in the region.
In this framework, it will help China expand imports, facilitate foreign investment, and further promote the deepening of the internationalization of the renminbi; the market will be larger and the division of labor will be more specialized;
The three countries of China, Japan and South Korea also indirectly realized economic integration and trade liberalization in this system, which contributed to the economic integration of the three countries; forming an economic community, the binding of interests is solid, and it has a positive effect on the stability of regional politics. .
Many benefits of joining RPEC
RCEP can not only benefit the country, but the people can also benefit from it.
The New Zealand government website quoted authoritative data and pointed out that with the help of RCEP, New Zealand’s annual GDP will increase by 0.3% to 0.6% in the next 20 years, equivalent to 1.5 billion to 3.2 billion New Zealand dollars (about 6.8 billion to 14.6 billion yuan). RMB).
New Zealand’s Minister of Trade and Export Growth Twyford said on Twitter: “From the beginning of next year, businesses can benefit from the opportunities provided by RCEP.”
Australia attaches great importance to RCEP. Australia's "Sydney Morning Herald" believes that RCEP is a lifeline for China-Australia relations. The Guardian believes that RCEP will help Australia "reset" economic relations with China.
For ordinary people, goods can be obtained at a more favorable price. For example, after the RCEP takes effect, the tax rate for imported electronic game consoles, toys and other products from Japan will be adjusted to 0%. Not only that, according to the RCEP plan, 90% of the goods trade between member states will achieve zero tariffs.
Apply to join CPTPP and DEPA
With RCEP, China has also applied to join the CPTPP. According to a research report by the Peterson Institute for International Economics, if China joins the CPTPP, China’s national income is expected to increase by US$298 billion by 2030, and other members of the CPTPP will also benefit a lot. After the epidemic severely damages the economy, it is expected to increase revenue by 632 billion. Dollar.
In addition, the Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao, on behalf of China, recently filed a formal application to join DEPA to New Zealand, the depositary of the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA).
He also stated that applying to join DEPA is in line with China's direction of further deepening domestic reforms and expanding high-level opening to the outside world, and will help China to strengthen cooperation in the digital economy with members under the new development pattern, and promote innovation and sustainable development.
EPA is the world's first special agreement covering digital economy issues, and this is another global trade agreement without the participation of the United States.
Although DEPA is a relatively new and relatively small-scale agreement, it represents a new trend. It is the world’s first important regulatory arrangement for the digital economy and will help my country expand its digital trade governance in Asia. The right to speak in the field.
