A batch of fresh matsutake mushrooms produced in southwest China’s Yunnan Province departed for Japan earlier this month, having received a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Certificate of Origin from Kunming Customs.
“Thanks to the implementation of the RCEP, our exported mushrooms now benefit from a reduced tax rate,” said Bi Chongbao with Chuxiong Prefectural Import and Export Co., Ltd.
“These mushrooms, which have entered the Japanese market, are worth about 168,800 yuan (about 23,442 U.S. dollars), with a tariff reduction of 1,350 yuan.”
Since the implementation of the RCEP, the tax rate for matsutake mushrooms entering Japan has decreased from 3 percent to 2.2 percent. It is expected to continue to decrease in the future, helping to further reduce the company’s trading costs, Bi added.
The RCEP comprises 15 members: the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states, plus China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand. The RCEP was signed in November 2020 and entered into force on Jan. 1, 2022, with the aim of gradually eliminating tariffs on over 90 percent of goods traded among its members.
During the ongoing seventh China-South Asia Expo held in Kunming, capital city of Yunnan, officials and business representatives from nine RCEP countries, including China, Cambodia and Australia, attended the Second International Cooperation Forum on RCEP Trade and Investment, focusing on topics related to the development of regional trade.
They discussed the more open and convenient development environment that the RCEP has brought to regional economic and trade cooperation.
The focus also extended to strategies for maximizing the RCEP’s benefits and expanding collaboration among the members.—Xinhua
