Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA)
Trade in Goods
Under CEPA, the Mainland agreed to fully implement zero tariff on imported goods of Hong Kong origin from 1 January 2006, upon the CEPA rules of origin (ROOs) being met. Imported goods do not include goods prohibited by the Mainland's rules and regulations and those prohibited as a result of the implementation of international treaties by the Mainland, as well as products that the Mainland has made special commitments in relevant international agreements.
To claim the CEPA tariff preference, each consignment of goods exported to the Mainland must be accompanied by a Certificate of Hong Kong Origin - CEPA (CO(CEPA)) issued by the Trade and Industry Department or one of the five Government Approved Certification Organizations (i.e. the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce; Federation of Hong Kong Industries; the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong, the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce and the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong). Before applying for CO(CEPA), the Hong Kong manufacturer concerned is required to apply for Factory Registration (FR) with the Trade and Industry Department to demonstrate that its factory possesses sufficient capacity to produce the goods for export.
On 14 December 2018, the Mainland and Hong Kong signed the Agreement on Trade in Goods (the Agreement) under the framework of CEPA, which came into effect on the day of signing and has been implemented on 1 January 2019. The Agreement has included three dedicated Chapters on "Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation", "Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures" and "Technical Barriers to Trade" to establish principles of trade facilitation, including stipulation of commitments of the two sides in facilitating trade between the two places, simplifying customs procedures, enhancing transparency of related measures and strengthening cooperation, etc. in the relevant areas. The Agreement has also included a dedicated Chapter on "Trade Facilitation Measures in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area", stipulating the trade facilitation measures to be implemented by the nine Pearl River Delta municipalities (namely Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing) and Hong Kong as agreed by the two sides.