Wenzhou shoes first to enjoy RCEP benefits
Customs officials for the Chinese city of Wenzhou, reportedly known as the country’s “shoe capital” since 2001, have revealed that a batch of locally made shoes shipped to Japan at the end of December were first among the city’s exports to enjoy preferential tariffs under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade agreement, which came into force on January 1.
Exporters of goods which commenced transit prior to the first of this month are eligible to apply for an RCEP certificate of origin.
According to reports from within China, the duties imposed on the footwear will have been around 6.4%, down from 6.7% previously.
A spokesperson for the Wenzhou company which made the shoes acknowledged that while these tariff concessions may not be significant in terms of their amount, it is hoped that they will “enhance the competitiveness of products in overseas markets in the future”.
