This chapter mainly expounds that the goal of RCEP contracting parties is to establish a modern, comprehensive, high-quality and mutually beneficial economic partnership and cooperation framework to promote regional trade and investment growth and contribute to global economic development. This chapter also defines the commonly used terms in the agreement.
Chapter II Trade in Goods
This chapter aims to promote a high level of trade liberalization in the region and stipulate commitments related to trade in goods. The provisions include: undertaking to give national treatment to goods of other contracting parties in accordance with Article III of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade;
Give preferential market access by gradually liberalizing tariffs; Temporary duty-free entry of specific goods; Cancel export subsidies for agricultural products; And the complete elimination of quantitative restrictions, the management of import licensing procedures and non-tariff measures, such as import and export-related fees and procedures.
Chapter III Rules of Origin
This chapter determines the identification rules of the original goods enjoying preferential tariff treatment under RCEP. While ensuring the application of the principle of substantive change, we should highlight the technical feasibility, trade convenience and business friendliness, so that enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, can easily understand and use the RCEP Agreement.
In the first section of this chapter, Article 2 (Goods of Origin) and Article 3 (Goods Fully Obtained or Fully Produced) and Annex I "Product-specific Rules of Origin" (PSR) stipulate the criteria for granting the "origin" of goods. The agreement also allows the value components from any contracting party of RCEP to be considered when determining whether the goods enjoy RCEP tariff preferences, and implements the rules of accumulation of origin components.
The second section stipulates the relevant operation certification procedures, including the detailed procedures of applying for RCEP certificate of origin, applying for preferential tariff treatment and verifying the "origin" of the goods. This chapter has two attachments:
(1) Rules of origin for specific products, covering about 5,205 6-digit products;
(2) Minimum information requirements, listing the information required by the certificate of origin or the declaration of origin.
Chapter IV Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation
This chapter aims to create an environment to promote regional supply chain by ensuring the predictability, consistency and transparency of customs laws and regulations, and promoting the effective management of customs procedures and the rapid clearance of goods.
This chapter contains enhanced provisions higher than the level of WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, including: pre-determining tariff classification, country of origin and customs valuation; Provide convenient measures related to import, export and transit procedures and procedures for operators (authorized operators) who meet specific conditions; Risk management methods of customs supervision and post-customs audit, etc.
Chapter V Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
This chapter provides the basic framework for formulating, adopting and implementing sanitary and phytosanitary measures, so as to protect the life or health of human beings, animals or plants, and at the same time ensure that the above measures do not restrict trade as much as possible, and ensure that there is no unreasonable discrimination in sanitary and phytosanitary measures implemented by contracting parties under similar conditions.
Although the parties stated their rights and obligations in the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures of the WTO, the Agreement strengthened the provisions on implementation, risk analysis, audit, certification, import inspection and emergency measures in non-epidemic areas and low-epidemic areas of pests and diseases.
Chapter VI Standards, Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment Procedures
This chapter strengthens the implementation of the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, and recognizes the understandings reached by all parties on standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures. At the same time, the contracting parties are urged to reduce unnecessary technical barriers to trade in terms of recognized standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures, and ensure that standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures conform to the provisions of the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade and other aspects of information exchange and cooperation.
Chapter VII Trade Relief
This chapter includes safeguard measures and anti-dumping and countervailing duties. With regard to safeguard measures, the Agreement reaffirms the rights and obligations of all parties under the WTO Agreement on Safeguards, and establishes a transitional safeguard system to provide relief to all parties who suffer from the implementation of the agreed tax reduction.
With regard to anti-dumping and countervailing duties, the Agreement reaffirms the rights and obligations of the parties in the relevant WTO agreements, and formulates an annex on "Practices Related to Anti-dumping and Countervailing Investigations", which standardizes practical practices such as written information, consultation opportunities, announcement and interpretation of rulings, and promotes the transparency and due process of trade remedy investigations.
Chapter VIII Trade in Services
This chapter reduces the restrictive and discriminatory measures of members that affect cross-border service trade, and creates conditions for further expansion of service trade among contracting parties. Including market access commitments, national treatment, most-favored-nation treatment, local existence, domestic laws and regulations and other rules.
Some parties adopt negative list to make market access commitments, and require parties that currently adopt positive list to make service commitment arrangements within six years after the agreement comes into effect.
Chapter VIII Annex I: Financial Services Annex
The Financial Services Annex stipulates the specific rules of financial services and provides sufficient policy and regulatory space to prevent the instability of the financial system. In addition to the obligations stipulated in Chapter VIII (Trade in Services), the Annex also includes a prudent exception clause to ensure that financial regulators retain the ability to formulate measures to support the integrity and stability of the financial system.
This annex also includes the obligation of transparency in financial supervision, and each party promises not to prevent the transfer or processing of information necessary for business and the provision of new financial services. The annex also stipulates that the contracting parties may resolve the balance of payments crisis or the situation that may escalate it into a balance of payments crisis through consultation.
Chapter VIII Annex II: Telecommunication Service Annex
This annex provides a set of rules and regulations related to trade in telecommunication services. On the basis of all the existing telecom service annexes of "ASEAN" 10+ 1' Free Trade Agreement, the annexes also include provisions such as supervision mode, international submarine cable system, separation of network elements, access of poles, pipelines and pipe networks, international mobile roaming, and flexibility of technology selection.
Chapter VIII Annex III: Professional Services Annex
This annex provides a way for Parties to facilitate the provision of professional services in the region. Including: strengthening the dialogue between institutions that recognize professional qualifications, and encouraging RCEP parties or relevant institutions to negotiate with relevant professional services departments on professional qualifications, licenses or registrations.
In addition, contracting parties or relevant institutions are encouraged to formulate mutually acceptable professional standards and guidelines in the fields of education, examination, experience, behavior and ethics, professional development and re-certification, scope of practice, and consumer protection.
Chapter IX Movement of Natural Persons
This chapter expounds the commitments made by the contracting parties to promote the temporary entry and temporary residence of natural persons engaged in trade in goods, providing services or investment, formulates the rules for the contracting parties to approve such temporary entry and temporary residence permits, and improves the transparency of the personnel flow policy. The attached commitment table lists the commitments covering business visitors, internal migrants and other categories, as well as the conditions and restrictions required by the commitments.
Chapter X Investment
This chapter covers four aspects: investment protection, liberalization, promotion and facilitation. It is an integration and upgrade of the original investment rules of "ASEAN" 10+ 1' Free Trade Agreement ",including MFN commitment, prohibition of performance requirements, adoption of negative list model to make market access commitments in non-service areas and application of ratchet mechanism. Investment facilitation also includes dispute prevention and coordinated settlement of foreign complaints. This chapter is attached with the investment and unqualified measures commitment form of all parties.
Chapter II XI Intellectual Property Rights
This chapter provides a balanced and comprehensive plan for the protection and promotion of intellectual property rights in this region. The content covers copyright, trademarks, geographical indications, patents, designs, genetic resources, traditional knowledge and folk literature and art, anti-unfair competition, intellectual property law enforcement, cooperation, transparency, technical assistance and other fields, and its overall protection level is strengthened compared with the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.
Chapter XII Electronic Commerce
This chapter aims to promote the use and cooperation of e-commerce among contracting parties, and lists the provisions that encourage contracting parties to improve trade management and procedures through electronic means; Require all parties to create a good environment for e-commerce, protect the personal information of e-commerce users, provide protection for online consumers, and strengthen supervision and cooperation on unsolicited commercial electronic information;
Put forward relevant measures for the site selection of computer facilities and cross-border transmission of information by electronic means, and set up regulatory policy space. The parties also agreed to maintain the current practice of not imposing tariffs on e-commerce in accordance with the decision of the WTO Ministerial Conference.
Chapter XIII Competition
This chapter provides a framework for cooperation in competition policy and law to improve economic efficiency and consumer welfare. It stipulates that contracting parties have the obligation to establish or maintain laws or institutions that prohibit or restrict competition activities, and at the same time recognizes that contracting parties have the sovereign right to formulate and implement their own competition laws, and allows exclusions or exemptions based on public policies or public interests.
This chapter also involves the protection of consumers' rights and interests, and all contracting parties have the obligation to adopt or safeguard domestic laws and regulations to stop misleading behavior or make false or misleading descriptions in trade; Promote the understanding and use of consumer relief mechanism; Cooperate in protecting the interests of consumers.
Chapter XIV Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
The contracting parties agree to provide a platform for small and medium-sized enterprises to discuss the agreement, so as to carry out economic cooperation projects and activities, aiming at improving the utilization rate of the agreement and benefiting from the opportunities created by the agreement, and bringing the small and medium-sized enterprises into the mainstream of the regional supply chain.
The agreement emphasizes the full enjoyment of information related to RCEP SMEs, including the contents of the agreement, laws and regulations in the fields of trade and investment related to SMEs, and other business-related information that SMEs participate in and benefit from the agreement.
Chapter XV Economic and Technical Cooperation
This chapter provides a framework for the common development of RCEP countries, and helps to fully benefit from the implementation and utilization of the agreement and narrow the development gap between all parties.
According to this chapter, the contracting parties will implement technical assistance and capacity-building projects to promote the inclusive, effective and efficient implementation and utilization of all areas of the Agreement, including trade in goods, trade in services, investment, intellectual property rights, competition, small and medium-sized enterprises and e-commerce. While giving priority to the needs of the least developed countries.
Chapter XVI Government Procurement
The agreement recognizes the role of government procurement in promoting regional economic integration to promote economic development, and will focus on improving the transparency of laws, regulations and procedures and promoting cooperation among contracting parties in government procurement. This chapter contains deliberation clauses, aiming at perfecting this chapter in the future to promote government procurement.
Chapter XVII General Clauses and Exceptions
This chapter stipulates the general principles applicable to the whole RCEP Agreement, including the transparency of the laws, regulations, procedures and generally applicable administrative rulings of the contracting parties, the establishment of appropriate review and appeal mechanisms for the administrative procedures of the contracting parties, the protection of confidential information, and the geographical scope of application of the Agreement.
At the same time, this chapter incorporates the general exceptions listed in Article XX of GATT 1994 and Article XIV of GATS into this Agreement, and makes necessary modifications. A contracting party may take actions or measures it deems necessary to protect its basic security interests. This chapter also allows the contracting parties to take certain measures in the face of serious international balance of payments imbalance, external financial difficulties or threats.
Chapter 18 System Provisions
This chapter provides the institutional arrangement of RCEP and the structure of Council of Ministers, Joint Committee and other committees or subcommittees. The Joint Commission will supervise and guide the implementation of the Agreement, including the supervision and coordination of the work of the newly established or future subsidiary bodies under the Agreement.
Chapter XIX Dispute Settlement
The purpose of this chapter is to provide effective, efficient and transparent procedures for resolving disputes arising under this agreement. It clearly stipulates the selection of places related to dispute resolution, negotiation, mediation, mediation, the establishment of expert groups, and the rights of third parties. This chapter also stipulates the functions, procedures, implementation, implementation review procedures, compensation and suspension of concessions or other obligations of the final report of the expert group.
Chapter 20 Final Clauses
This chapter mainly includes the handling of attachments, appendices and footnotes; The relationship between this Agreement and other international agreements; General review mechanism; The entry into force, storage, modification, accession and withdrawal clauses of the agreement, etc.
Designate the Secretary-General of ASEAN as the custodian of the agreement, responsible for receiving and distributing documents to all parties, including all notifications, accession requests, ratifications, acceptances or approvals. The entry into force clause of the treaty stipulates that the agreement will come into force after at least six ASEAN member countries and three ASEAN Free Trade Agreement partners deposit their instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval.
People's Republic of China (PRC) Central People's Government-Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement