China'S Formal Completion Of RCEP Approval Process Will Benefit Textile And Garment Industry For A Long Time

On April 15, China formally deposited the approval letter of regional comprehensive economic partnership agreement (RCEP) with ASEAN, marking that China has officially completed the approval process of RCEP, and has become the first non ASEAN member state to formally complete the approval process. Liu Yaozhong, deputy director of the International Trade Office of the China Textile Industry Federation, said in an exclusive interview with the Economic Daily reporter that RCEP will have a far-reaching positive impact on China's textile and garment industry in expanding the scale of foreign trade and deepening the cooperation of industrial chain and supply chain.

As the largest textile and garment market in the world, China plays an important role in the global textile industry chain. At present, China's textile industry accounts for more than 50% of the world's textile industry, 70% of the world's chemical fiber output and one-third of the world's trade; From the perspective of industrial integrity, China's industrial chain is the most complete and the product varieties are the most complete; In terms of manufacturing level, China's fiber raw materials, spinning and weaving, clothing and home textile technology manufacturing and equipment level are in the international advanced level.

"The biggest change brought about by RCEP is that China has established a new trade partnership with Japan, and the trade scale of China Japan textile industry is expected to continue to expand in the future." Liu Yaozhong judged.

At present, Japan is the fourth largest export market of China's textile and clothing industry. According to the customs data, in 2019, China's textile and clothing exports to Japan amounted to 20.08 billion US dollars, accounting for about 7.4% of the total export volume of the industry. According to the relevant statistical data of Japan, China's proportion in Japan's total import of textiles and clothing will be 58.6% in 2020. After RCEP comes into effect, except for a small number of products such as masks and bedding, the tariff of China's main textiles exported to Japan, such as knitwear, trousers, suits and T-shirts, will be cancelled within 16 years.

Liu Yaozhong analyzed that since Japan has signed free trade agreements with ASEAN, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, India and other countries, the textile and clothing products of these countries can enjoy tax-free treatment. After RCEP comes into effect, it will be beneficial for China's industries to gradually participate in international competition in the Japanese market, reduce the export cost of foreign trade enterprises, and enhance the international competitive advantage of products. At the same time, the original import tax rate of 5% to 8% for major categories of products imported from Japan will be reduced to zero in stages within 11 to 21 years, which is conducive to accelerating the transformation and upgrading of the industry and improving the production efficiency.

"From the perspective of regional production cooperation, it is expected to establish a more stable two-way investment environment. With the increase of investment, production capacity and closer cooperation, the status of regional manufacturing center will also be consolidated." Liu Yaozhong believed that the signing of RCEP will help deepen the cooperation of regional textile and clothing industry chain and supply chain.

He said that market access rules for goods, services and investment among Member States will be further relaxed, and customs procedures and technical standards will be gradually unified. By adopting the rules of origin in the region, it will promote the free flow of economic factors in the region, strengthen the division of production and cooperation among members, promote the expansion and upgrading of the regional consumer market, and promote the further development of the regional industrial chain, supply chain and value chain.

For the foreign trade enterprises in China's textile and clothing industry, RCEP on the one hand helps to export more products and better enjoy preferential tax measures; On the other hand, it helps to avoid some trade barriers.

It is understood that after RCEP comes into effect, if an enterprise passes the customs certification and becomes an approved manufacturer, it can clear the customs only with the declaration of origin of the enterprise and enjoy the preferential treatment of the contracting state when exporting, which saves the entry, examination and application of the certificate of origin, and further reduces the time limit and cost of customs clearance.

At the RCEP policy training meeting organized by Shenzhen customs, Ms. Cao, the customs officer of Shenzhen robust Medical Products Co., Ltd., was very happy. "Our company issues more than 30 certificates of origin of non-woven fabrics to Southeast Asia every week. Since the customs launched service measures such as self-service printing and intelligent verification and signing, it is no longer necessary to apply for the certificate of origin at the customs site. I can't imagine that RCEP can still use the independent voice of enterprises to clear the customs, which will be more convenient in the future," she said