Customs & Excise Commissioner Roy Tang signed the Co-operation Arrangement on Origin of Transhipment Cargo in Hong Kong under Free Trade Agreements with Minister of the General Administration of Customs Yu Guangzhou at the 2016 Review Meeting today.
Under the agreement, Mainland-bound consignments passing through Hong Kong can enjoy Mainland tariff reductions.
The arrangement covers goods traded between the Mainland and its trading partners, including the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as Australia, Bangladesh, Chile, Costa Rica, Iceland, India, Korea, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Sri Lanka, Switzerland and Taiwan.
Hong Kong Customs launched the Free Trade Agreement Transhipment Facilitation Scheme last December to provide supervision service and issue a certificate of non-manipulation to enable traders to claim tariff reductions from the customs authorities at the importing end.
As at last month, Hong Kong Customs received 1,120 applications with a total value of goods exceeding US$88 million and estimated tariff reductions of more than US$5.1 million.
The scheme allows goods passing through Hong Kong to enjoy tariff reductions, strengthens Hong Kong's status as a regional logistics hub and enhances local trade, commerce and logistics sector development under the Belt & Road Initiative.
