Shanghai Leagueshipping Co., Ltd.

Your location:Home News Blog

90% trade with zero tariff! Will foreign trade orders explode?

Jul 01, 2024|View:13

According to the website of the Ministry of Commerce, the Free Trade Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Serbia was signed on October 17. 2023. At present, both China and Cyprus have completed their respective domestic approval procedures, and the agreement will officially enter into force on July 1. 2024.

After the entry into force of the China-Cyprus FTA, China and Cyprus will gradually eliminate tariffs on 90% of the tariff items, of which more than 60% of the tariff items will be cancelled immediately on the day the agreement takes effect. Both sides will eventually achieve about 95% of the import value of zero-tariff items.

The China-Cyprus FTA also covers a wide range of products. The Cypriot side will include automobiles, photovoltaic modules, lithium batteries, communication equipment, machinery and equipment, refractory materials, and some agricultural and aquatic products that China is focusing on into zero tariffs, and the tariffs on relevant products will be gradually reduced from the current 5%-20% to zero. China will include generators, electric motors, tires, beef, wine, nuts, etc., which are of particular interest to the Cypriot side, into zero tariffs, and tariffs on relevant products will be gradually reduced from the current 5%-20% to zero.

At the same time, the agreement also establishes institutional arrangements in many areas such as rules of origin, customs procedures and trade facilitation, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, trade remedies, dispute settlement, intellectual property protection, investment cooperation, competition and many other areas, which will provide a more convenient, transparent and stable business environment for enterprises in the two countries.

This is undoubtedly a major good news for foreign trade enterprises! In the eyes of industry insiders, this will not only promote the growth of bilateral trade, so that consumers in the two countries can enjoy more, better and more preferential imported products, but also promote investment cooperation and industrial chain integration between the two sides, better play their comparative advantages, and jointly enhance international competitiveness.

The China-Cyprus FTA is the first FTA signed between China and CEE countries, and it is also the 22nd FTA signed by China, and Serbia has become China's 29th FTA.

Customs data shows that in 2023. the total bilateral trade between China and Serbia will be 30.63 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 31.1%. Among them, China exported 19.00 billion yuan to Serbia and imported 11.63 billion yuan from Serbia.