From January to February, Changzhou Customs issued a total of 6,614 RCEP certificates of origin, involving USD 358 million worth of goods.

On November 15, 2020, fifteen countries � members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and five regional partners � signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the largest free trade agreement in history. The 15 participating countries of the RCEP account for around 30 percent of the global population, global gross domestic product and global trade.

A certificate of origin (CO) is a document declaring in which country a commodity or good was manufactured. It contains information regarding the product, its destination, and the country of export. Required by trade agreements for cross-border trade, the CO is an important form for it helps determine whether certain goods are eligible for import, or whether goods are subject to duties.

This year, Changzhou Customs launched the “online verification + self-service printing� system for CO applications, which is much more convenient and saves companies a trip to the customs.

During the first two months of 2021, Changzhou’s trade volume with RCEP participating countries totaled USD 2.29 billion, an increase of 51.3% year on year.