Foreign Trade Enterprises Ushered In New Opportunities
Jul 08, 2024
The Free Trade Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Serbia (China-Serbia Free Trade Agreement) has been in force since July 1 this year. On the morning of the same day, Tianhe Customs, a subsidiary of Guangzhou Customs, issued a certificate of origin for a batch of sets of pigments worth more than 700,000 yuan (RMB, the same below) of Guangzhou Meibang Qifu Stationery Co., Ltd. This is the first China-Serbia FTA Certificate of Origin issued by Guangzhou Customs after the agreement came into effect.
"Taking the set pigments exported this time as an example, after the China-Serbia Free Trade Agreement came into effect, the tariff rate of this batch of products in Serbia has decreased by 0.6 percentage points, and it will be reduced to zero tariff year by year. With the certificate of origin issued by the customs, this batch of pigments can get a tariff concession of 4,200 yuan. We are looking forward to taking this opportunity to tap more customers from Belt and Road countries and explore overseas markets." Li Yansong, shipping manager of Guangzhou Meibang Qifu Stationery Co., Ltd., said that in the first six months of this year, the company exported about 1.3 million yuan to Serbia, a year-on-year increase of 20%.
After the China-Serbia FTA comes into effect, China and Serbia will remove tariffs on 90% of each other's tariff lines, of which more than 60% will be removed immediately after the agreement enters into force. Tariffs on China's exports of automobiles, photovoltaic modules, lithium batteries, communication equipment, machinery and equipment, refractories, and some agricultural and aquatic products will be gradually reduced and abolished, from the current 5%-20% to zero. At the same time, when Serbian beef, wine, nuts and other products enter the Chinese market, China's import tariffs will be gradually reduced to zero on the basis of the current 5%-20%. Eventually, the zero-tariff line between the two sides will cover about 95% of the bilateral trade volume.
"The China-Serbia FTA allows approved exporters to submit a declaration of origin independently, and enterprises no longer need to apply for a certificate of origin from the visa agency in the traditional way, which will further reduce the cost of enterprises and effectively improve the level of customs clearance facilitation." Zhang Ouou, deputy chief of the origin management section of the customs department of Guangzhou Customs, introduced. (Guan Yue/text)
