FTA Dividend Revealed, Ningbo Enterprises Took Advantage of China-Serbia Cooperation to Sign Certificates for Over RMB 240 Million in Half a Year

 

 

The Free Trade Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Serbia (hereinafter referred to as the "China-Serbia FTA") officially came into effect on July 1 last year. As the first free trade agreement signed between China and CEEC, it is also an important event for expanding the global network of high-standard free trade areas and an important achievement of the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. According to the agreement, China and Serbia have canceled tariffs on 90% of tax items respectively, and policy dividends are continuously released. Since its entry into force six months ago, Ningbo Customs has issued 828 Certificates of Origin under the China-Serbia FTA, with a total value exceeding RMB 240 million, covering electrical equipment and auto parts.

Recently, the Customs affiliated to Ningbo Customs approved the China-Serbia FTA Certificate of Origin issued by Green Globe Machinery (Ningbo) Co., Ltd. The enterprise obtained the certificate through self-service printing in a convenient and quick manner. This certificate allows the company's products, including heat guns worth RMB 93,000, to benefit from zero-tariff preferential treatment when exported to Serbia. By the end of January 2025, the company has applied for 26 Certificates of Origin under China-Serbia FTA, with a visa amount of about RMB 6,175,400.

 

 

A customs officer of Ningbo Customs is instructing the enterprise's documentary personnel to declare the Certificate of Origin (Fu Yichun)

 

 

Li Na, head of the company, said: "Our company is mainly engaged in the export trade of garden machinery, electrical tools and other products. The entry into force of the China-Serbia FTA has greatly benefited our exports. Our export products can enjoy tariff reduction or exemption in Serbia with the certificate of origin, which not only reduces the cost of Serbian customers but also improves the international competitiveness of our products. After the publicity and implementation of customs policies, we know that most of our products are within the scope of tax reduction. Under the guidance of the Customs, we have applied for Certificate of Origin in a timely manner and through self-service printing mode. The whole process is very convenient and efficient. We will continue to make full use of the Certificate of Origin, and take advantage of it to promote "Made in China" to go deeper and further on the international stage."

"Is the access of apple seedlings from Serbia allowed at present? What process do we need to adopt?" Regarding the access of CEE products, which is a more concerned issue at present, the representative of Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia in China raised inquiries through the interactive exchange platform on the website of the China-CEEC Customs Information Center. Founded in 1857, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia is the largest chamber of commerce organization in Serbia. It plays an important role in helping and promoting understanding and cooperation between Chinese and Serbian enterprises. In order to better facilitate the rapid development of trade between China and Serbia, the China-CEEC Customs Information Center and representatives of the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia in China have set up "one-to-one" business consultants to optimize overseas consulting services through the "interaction and exchange" column on the website, WeChat, telephone and other ways. They have responded 11 times to business consultations such as wine classification, drinking water import and enterprise registration.

Continuously monitor and stay updated on trending topics. By the end of January 2025, Ningbo Customs has given full play to its role as an information hub for China-CEEC customs information centers and actively served bilateral trade between China and Serbia. It has timely published 968 articles on interpretation of free trade agreements and guidelines for customs clearance of new access products, which have become the policy "compass" for relevant enterprises. Moreover, it has released 369 indexes related to China-Serbia trade and 960 digital earth data points, providing a data "wind vane" for bilateral trade between China and Serbia. In the next step, Ningbo Customs will continue to optimize services and promote facilitation, conduct in-depth research on customs clearance difficulties and policy appeals of key enterprises in relevant industries, strengthen publicity of policies related to Belt and Road partner countries, tap the potential for enterprises to enjoy benefits, further promote facilitation measures such as self-service printing of Certificates of Origin, seize development opportunities, effectively reduce costs and increase efficiency, and serve the high-quality development of foreign trade. (Written by Lin Miao, Jiang Shuwen and Yu Chen)

 

 

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  Disclaimer：The above content is translated from Chinese version of cceeccic. The cceeccic version shall prevail.