Apparel / Textiles & Accessories

Information from the China Leather Association shows that the "Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement" (RCEP) has three major opportunities for my country's leather industry in global industrial development, import and export trade, and cross-border cooperation and investment, but it also faces some challenges. Therefore, enterprises should actively understand the specific terms and contents of RCEP, and actively use RCEP's preferential tariff measures to enhance the quality of their products and the competitiveness of their brands, effectively resolve competition risks, and ensure the independent control and safety of the domestic industrial chain and supply chain.

Chen Zhanguang, secretary general of the China Leather Association, recently made a special report on "The Impact of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) on China's Leather Industry-Opportunities and Challenges" at the meeting. He analyzed the impact of RCEP on the leather industry and the opportunities and challenges it faces, and made relevant suggestions. Specifically, opportunities for domestic industries and enterprises From the perspective of global industrial development, RCEP is conducive to East Asia and Southeast Asia to better form the world's most competitive leather and shoe industry manufacturing center and consumption center. At present, some Southeast Asian companies import raw materials and parts for processing from China. Taking the production of luggage in the leather industry as an example, Vietnam uses raw materials from China's Guangdong and other regions for production, and the products cannot enjoy preferential tax rates when exported to Japan and South Korea. After the RCEP takes effect, Vietnamese luggage and leather goods companies are expected to increase their imports of Chinese raw materials. RCEP can facilitate the trade flow of semi-finished parts and components on the production network in the entire region, and it also means that China's raw materials and semi-finished products can be used more.

From the perspective of import and export trade, RCEP tariff reduction and supporting trade facilitation measures will help China's leather and footwear industry maintain its competitiveness in the international market; from the perspective of cross-border cooperation and investment, it will help deepen international cooperation in production capacity and expand the RCEP area. Internal investment, to better build a mutually beneficial and win-win leather and shoe industry chain supply chain cooperation system (the principle of accumulation of origin, investment).

Take Shandong Nanshan Zhishang Technology Co., Ltd. as an example. According to media reports, the company is a wool textile and garment company. Its raw material wool is mainly imported from Australia, with an annual import value of 400 to 500 million yuan. According to the RCEP agreement, tariffs on wool imports can be gradually reduced to zero in the future. The fabrics and clothing they produce are exported to South Korea, Japan, New Zealand and other countries. In the future, exports of these products will gradually achieve zero tariffs. If the RCEP goods tariff reduction commitment is to plan a national-level tax reduction arrangement, then the RCEP origin accumulation rule is a new guide for how to formulate benefits at the enterprise level. According to the RCEP rules, products produced by a country using raw materials from other member states are still regarded as origins, and they can enjoy preferential tax rates for cumulative exports.

But there are also many challenges. Chen Zhanguang said that China's tariff reduction to other RCEP countries will make domestic market competition more intense. He suggested that we should actively understand the specific provisions of RCEP, including tariff concessions, rules of origin, customs procedures, inspection and quarantine, investment, movement of natural persons, intellectual property rights, e-commerce, trade remedies, etc.; actively use RCEP's preferential tariff measures, Compare with the free trade agreements that came into effect before, make better choices; in terms of international investment, give priority to investment cooperation in the RCEP region, and do a good job in the international industrial layout; in the domestic market, speed up the pace of industrial upgrading through technological innovation and improve the quality of their products And the competitiveness of the brand, effectively resolve the risk of competition, and ensure the independent controllability and safety of the domestic industrial chain and supply chain.