The impact of rcep on China’s import and export trade

1. The signing of RCEP will have limited impact on the import and export of China’s marginal countries, but it will promote the transfer of some domestic labor-intensive industries in the long term.

2. Improve China’s export competitiveness of raw materials, while reducing production costs for Chinese enterprises. Industries that can immediately achieve zero tariffs in the short term will benefit.

3. The signing of RCEP will greatly promote the tariff reduction arrangements between China and Japan. After the implementation of RCEP, China’s export opportunities for agricultural products, automobiles, steel, building materials and other products will further increase. .

4. The short-term benefits are concentrated in electromechanical equipment, automobiles and parts, and the agreement will promote South Korea and ASEAN to increase imports of agricultural products, automobiles and chemicals from China.

In general, RCEP mainly has the above four impacts on domestic imports and exports. Among them, the core benefits after the signing of RCEP are concentrated in textiles and clothing, light industry, agricultural products, automobiles and parts, and machinery and equipment. It will help promote the development of the import and export industries of the country and neighboring countries. In addition, low-end industries will flow out of first-tier cities.

The RCEP agreement means the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which is initiated by the ten ASEAN countries and invites China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and India to participate ("16") , by reducing tariffs and non-tariff barriers, and establishing a free trade agreement for a unified market among 16 countries.

The RCEP agreement was first proposed by ASEAN countries and is a regional economic integration cooperation led by ASEAN. It is an organizational form for member states to open markets to each other and implement regional economic integration. If RCEP succeeds, it will cover a population of approximately 3.5 billion, and the total GDP will reach US$23 trillion, accounting for 1/3 of the global total. The area covered will also become the world's largest free trade zone.

The functions of the RCEP agreement:

1. By promoting the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region, it will further deepen economic cooperation in the region.

Although there are many "11" free trade agreements based on the 10 ASEAN countries in the Asia-Pacific region, the terms are complicated. Trade and investment regulations vary widely among countries, and the formulation and implementation costs of systems are high. RCEP is a collective upgrade of various existing "11" agreements. It is a unified system of rules in the region, which helps to reduce the operating costs of import and export enterprises and reduce operational uncertainty risks. RCEP can greatly promote the cross-border flow of goods, technology, services, capital and personnel within the region, creating a "trade creation" effect. In addition to traditional trade and investment activities, service trade such as finance, logistics, tourism, and communications will become the growth point of the new economy in the future.

2. RCEP provides a strong response to unilateralism and trade protectionism.

Since 2017, the Trump administration in the United States has implemented a series of trade protectionist measures and abolished some agreements that have been reached and are about to be reached. Under its influence, many countries have successively adopted follow-up measures, which have had a significant negative impact on global trade, investment and other economic activities. The conclusion of RCEP reflects the global call for a freer and more convenient trade and investment environment, and will lay a good foundation for the conclusion of the China-EU Bilateral Investment Agreement and the EU-US Free Trade Agreement in 2020.

3. For ordinary people, after the RCEP agreement is signed, the import cost of some imported raw materials will be reduced due to the elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers, allowing consumers to not only have a wide range of choices when purchasing goods, but also The price will be lower.

The RCEP trade agreement also plays an important role in maintaining free trade and fighting back trade protectionism.