RCEP will take effect on 1 next year! What convenience and benefits will RCEP bring?

The ASEAN Secretariat recently announced that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) has reached the threshold of entry into force, and will enter into force on June 5438+ 10/day, 2022 for six ASEAN members including Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam and four non-ASEAN members including China, Japan, New Zealand and Australia. Observers said that after the entry into force of RCEP, it will promote ASEAN's economic and trade growth, accelerate the process of ASEAN's economic integration and contribute to ASEAN's economic development.

On June 5438+065438+1October 55438+05, RCEP was officially signed. It has 15 member countries, and its total population, economic output and trade volume account for about 30% of the global total. It is the largest free trade area in the world. According to the agreement, RCEP can take effect between six ASEAN member countries and three non-ASEAN member countries after being approved.

Observers believe that the entry into force of the agreement will further enhance the central position and role of ASEAN within the regional framework. Chen Zhensheng, Minister of Trade and Industry of Singapore, said earlier that ASEAN played a key role in the RCEP signing process and promoted cooperation among all parties.

As RCEP continues to open to new partners in the future, the scale and influence of RCEP will continue to expand, further stabilizing the central position of ASEAN in the regional structure and contributing to the establishment of a more diversified and inclusive Asia-Pacific Free Trade Area. Jiao Jiameng Biddon Longji, deputy director of the Multilateralism Center of Rajaratnam Institute of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, said that RCEP highlights that ASEAN's influence has expanded beyond ASEAN and will promote ASEAN-centered regional governance mechanisms in the future.

At the same time, observers are also optimistic about the prospects of economic and trade cooperation among countries in the region under the RCEP framework, and believe that the RCEP Rules may become the benchmark and legal precedent for future regional free trade cooperation. As the largest free trade agreement in the world, the entry into force of RCEP will promote the development of free trade in this region, inject impetus into the economic recovery of ASEAN in the post-epidemic era, and effectively promote the economic development of ASEAN.

A study by Peterson Institute for International Economics shows that RCEP will expand trade between ASEAN and other member countries and directly promote economic growth. According to the institute's calculation, by 2030, RCEP is expected to increase exports by 565.438+09 billion US dollars and national income by 654.38+08.6 billion US dollars.

In recent years, the level of economic integration of ASEAN countries has been continuously improved. Overseas experts predict that RCEP will further enhance the level of economic integration within ASEAN and help ASEAN build an economic unity in an all-round way.

What impact will RCEP have after it takes effect?

At the briefing in March this year, Yu Benlin, director of the Department of International Economic and Trade Relations of the Ministry of Commerce, said that enterprises will import advanced technology, important equipment, key components, consumer goods, medicine and nursing equipment, as well as imported productive services such as design and development, energy conservation and environmental protection at a lower cost to better meet the consumption upgrading needs of the domestic market.

In addition, the conclusion of the agreement will also help to build the supply chain and value chain in the region. "The formation of a unified free trade zone in the region is conducive to the formation of supply chains and value chains in the region according to comparative advantages, and will be of great benefit to the flow of goods, technologies, services and capital in the region, including the cross-border flow of people, forming a' trade creation' effect." Wang Shouwen, Vice Minister of Commerce and Deputy Representative of International Trade Negotiations, said.

Take the clothing industry as an example. If Vietnamese-made clothes are exported to China now, they will have to pay tariffs. After joining the FTA, the regional value chain will play a role; China imports wool from Australia and New Zealand. Because of the signing of a free trade agreement, wool may be imported duty-free in the future. After import, it will be woven into cloth in China, which may be exported to Vietnam. Vietnam will use this kind of cloth to weave clothes, and then export them to Korea, Japan, China and other countries. Based on this, it can promote the development of local textile and garment industry, solve local employment, and is also very beneficial to export.

Therefore, after the signing of RCEP, if more than 90% products are gradually exempted from tariffs, it will greatly promote the economic vitality of more than a dozen member countries, including China.

In addition, according to He Yaqiong, head of the Operation Monitoring Coordination Bureau of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, this will also improve the quality of China's manufacturing industry and promote China's manufacturing industry to move towards the middle and high end.

Source: Comprehensive from Xinhua News Agency, china securities journal, etc. Editor: Yunyang E-mail: fnweb@ 126.com Welcome to subscribe to Financial Times for more exclusive news.