The Australian Border Force (ABF) has issued Australian Customs Notice No. 2023/18, titled: Customs (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement—Entry into Force for the Philippines) Notice 2023.
It announces that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, known as RCEP, will enter into force for the Philippines on 02 June 2023.
The RCEP has already entered into force for Australia – as well as Brunei, Cambodia, China, Japan, Laos, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – on 01 January 2022. This was followed by the Republic of Korea on 01 February 2022, Malaysia on 18 March 2022 and Indonesia on 01 January 2023. The agreement is yet to enter into force for Myanmar.
It is set to become the world’s largest trade deal – which includes China but excludes the USA. It is also larger than other regional trading blocs such as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the European Union.
Under the Customs Act, the Minister for Home Affairs is required to announce by notifiable instrument the day on which the RCEP enters into force for each party other than Australia. This occurred on 10 May and Notice no. 2023/18 fulfills this requirement, stating:
The following Preference Origin Country code is to be included with the table found in ACN 2021/49 for use from 02 June 2023.
Preference Origin Country
Code: PH
Description: Philippines
The RCEP Joint Committee reached consensus on the version of the PSR annex in HS 2022 last year. Where possible, RCEP Proof of Origin documentation issued or completed after 02 June 2023 for goods imported into Australia claiming to be RCEP originating goods should make use of HS 2022. Once all RCEP parties have transitioned to using HS 2022 on the Proof of Origin, it is expected that there will be significantly limited situations where HS 2012 will be used on a COO or DOO.
The RCEP will cover a market of 2.2 billion people and US$26.2 trillion of global output. Ultimately, the partnership will create a trade group that covers about 30% of the world’s population, as well as the global economy.
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