RCEP to ease trade in goods in the region

JAKARTA, 6 September 2021 – Continuing the first webinar entitled “Unlocking RCEP for Business: Trade in Goods”  held in July, the ASEAN Secretariat, in collaboration with the East Asia Business Council, held a second webinar on 3 September focusing on Rules of Origin (ROO) and Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation (CPTF) of the RCEP Agreement.

In his opening remarks, Deputy Secretary-General (DSG) for ASEAN Economic Community Satvinder Singh highlighted the importance of trade in goods for ASEAN and how the RCEP Agreement can help ASEAN’s trade in goods to expand.

“In 2020, ASEAN’s overall value in trade in goods was recorded at US$ 2.66 trillion, down 5.5% from the previous year due to the pandemic. The RCEP Agreement can help to bring the number up again. But we would need to make sure that businesses in the region are fully aware and well informed on how to utilise the Agreement,” as stressed by DSG Singh.

The webinar brought in experts, many of whom were involved in the RCEP negotiations, to explain how the RCEP ROO and CPTF Chapters work to facilitate the movement of trade in goods within RCEP. It also discussed the advantages brought about by these Chapters for businesses in the region, especially to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). 

Presenters and panellists at the webinar acknowledged that ROO and CPTF Chapters make the RCEP Agreement better and more trade facilitative than the ASEAN Plus One FTAs. The ROO Chapter is one of the chapters that value-adds the most to the ASEAN Plus One FTAs in terms of streamlining different rules into just a single set rule, and provides more options for the business to claim RCEP origin status of products, i.e. Certificate of Origin or Declaration of Origin.

The various presentations also sought to guide businesses on how to take advantage of the opportunities brought about by the RCEP ROO and CPTF Chapters, including the step-by-step checking whether their products are eligible for RCEP tariff preferential treatments.

A recent study by the Peterson Institute for International Economic suggests that the RCEP Agreement will further expand trade among its members; directly contributing to their economic growth. Based on the study, by 2025, the RCEP Agreement is projected to boost its members’ exports by over 10% and by 2030 add around 0.2% to GDP growth in the region.

The webinar highlighted that the realisation of RCEP’s potential will depend on its timely entry into force and the full, effective, and inclusive implementation of the Agreement by its members.

Following the signing of the RCEP Agreement last year, signatory States are currently undertaking their respective ratification processes and aim to complete them within this year.

The ASEAN Secretariat continues to work with private and public organisations to ensure that businesses in the region are aware of the advantages of RCEP and would be in a position to make use of the measures in the RCEP Agreement. The video recording of the webinar is available at this link.

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Source: ASEAN Secretariat