1. The agreement
Signed on 26 May 2015, in force since 20 December 2015.
2. The structure
Nine chapters plus annexes, and a schedule of tariff concessions that stages down over a long period.
3. What exporters actually use
The certificate form, the origin rules, and the tariff schedule.
4. The certificate
The bilateral certificate, with origin criteria stated on the form.
5. The origin rules
General rules plus product-specific rules.
The general rules give the default criterion. The product-specific rules override it for listed products.
6. The tariff schedule
Staged reductions over the transition period.
Some product categories are excluded entirely. Others are staged over ten, fifteen or twenty years.
The staging means that the achievable benefit depends on the year, not just the product.
7. The relationship with RCEP
Both are in force.
RCEP covers China, Korea and thirteen other members, with separate schedules and separate origin rules.
8. A comparison worth making
For a product exported to Korea, the question is which agreement gives the better rate this year.
RCEP’s schedule is staged on its own timeline, so the answer changes over time.
9. A scenario
An exporter began using the bilateral certificate and continued using it by habit.
For one product line, RCEP’s schedule had staged down faster, and the bilateral certificate was delivering a higher rate than RCEP would have.
The difference had accumulated over several years.
10. Closing view
A habit of using one certificate is easy to form and easy to keep too long.
The schedules move. The choice should be revisited.
*This article is based on the China-Korea Free Trade Agreement and RCEP. Exporters should confirm requirements with China Customs.*