Companies in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, are capitalizing on the benefits of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) by using certificates of origin to gain a competitive edge in international trade.

Four years into the RCEP, Ningbo exporters are seeing real momentum as tariff reductions across the 15 member countries continue to take effect. These certificates are unlocking savings and speeding up market access across the region.

Data from Ningbo Customs shows that in the first five months of 2025, more than 15,000 RCEP certificates of origin were issued, covering goods worth over 3.82 billion yuan ($531 million) — a double-digit increase from the same period last year.

One beneficiary is Jintian Copper Group, which recently shipped a batch of copper strips to Japan. The company saved more than 18,000 yuan in duties, thanks to the reduced tariff rate backed by the RCEP certificate.

"Japan has lowered the tariff on copper strips from 3.0 percent to 1.6 percent. That makes a big difference in terms of total landing costs and boosts our price competitiveness," said Di Lixia, documentation manager at Jintian Copper.

The company's RCEP-related exports have seen strong growth this year, with projected annual savings of over 600,000 yuan.

Others, like Seduno Group, are streamlining the process further. As an approved exporter, the company can issue its own origin declarations without going through customs for each shipment.

"It cuts down turnaround time and signals our compliance capabilities to partners," said Xue Qinfeng, the firm's documentation manager. "Ningbo Customs has been incredibly supportive in helping us build a smoother and faster trade pipeline."