Customs officers work at Taicang Port. [Photo/taicangdaily.com]

Schaeffler (China) Co Ltd in Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu province, became Suzhou's first exporter under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership on Jan 4.

Taicang Alpine Electronics Co Ltd and Kern-Liebers (Taicang) Co Ltd were approved on the same day.

Unlike previous free trade pacts, the RCEP allows exporters to use the certificate of origin issued by authorized institutes and make declarations of origin issued by the approved exporters themselves.

According to Fan Yingzi, deputy commissioner of Taicang Customs, once a company becomes an approved exporter, it can provide certificates of origin at any time rather than apply for it at the customs. This way, exporters can arrange logistics in a more flexible manner and increase customs declaration efficiency.

The RCEP agreement, which took effect on Jan 1, covers roughly 30 percent of the world's population. It is forecast to provide a strong boost to international trade and investment and enhance the level of economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region.

In addition to lowering tariffs, the RCEP also covers more than 100 sub-sectors of international trade in services, including finance, telecommunications, transportation, tourism, and research and development. 

Within six years from the implementation of the agreement, intra-regional trade in services will be switched from a positive list to a negative list, meaning that the opening of international trade in services is expected to become more stable.