Shanghai Decent Investment Group obtains Shanghai's first RCEP certificate of origin for exports to Indonesia. [Photo/WeChat accouont: pdnews]

Shanghai Customs issued a certificate of origin under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement to Shanghai Decent Investment Group for a batch of sieve plates to be exported to Indonesia.

It was the first RCEP certificate of origin issued in Shanghai for exports to Indonesia since the world's largest free trade deal agreement took effect in Indonesia on Jan 2.

So far, the trade pact has taken effect in 14 of the 15 members of the RCEP, which comprises 10 ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member countries and five of their trading partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand. The RCEP entered into force on Jan 1, 2022.

Wang Yan, deputy general manager of Shanghai Decent Investment Group’s Indonesia Project Department said that the company handles more than 1,000 certificates of origin for products exported to Indonesia each year, which have a total value of about $500 million.

With the RCEP agreement effective in Indonesia, the company can not only apply for the RCEP certificate of origin, but also China-ASEAN certificates of origin, meaning the company is expected to enjoy about 150 million yuan ($21.95 million) in tariff concessions this year when they export their products to Indonesia, which will improve its competitiveness in the international export market.

Since the RCEP took effect at the beginning of last year, Shanghai Customs has been working hard to help local export enterprises seize development opportunities presented by RCEP. Official data show that in 2022, the total volume of imports and exports handled by the Shanghai Customs under the RCEP arrangement exceeded 48 billion yuan, bringing tariff concessions of more than 600 million yuan.