The first Certificate of Origin for the China-Serbia Free Trade Agreement is issued by Shanghai Customs on July 10. [Photo/CCTV]

The first Certificate of Origin for the China-Serbia Free Trade Agreement was issued by Shanghai Customs on July 10 for a batch of cables worth over 200,000 yuan ($27,520).

The China-Serbia Free Trade Agreement took effect on July 1.

"Taking the export of cables this time as an example, since the agreement came into effect, the tariff rate on this batch of products has been reduced by three percent. It will gradually be reduced to zero tariff year by year. With the certificate of origin issued by Customs, the products can obtain a tariff concession of about 6,000 yuan," said a representative from Shanghai Bizerba Trading Co.

The representative said that Shanghai's Pudong Customs has been proactive in briefing them about the free trade agreement. They helped with the paperless declaration and printed out the certificate of origin efficiently.

According to the terms of the agreement, the two parties will cancel tariffs on 90 percent of goods. Among them, 60 percent of goods have been exempt from tariffs since the free trade agreement took effect. The proportions of zero-tariff imports on both sides are estimated to reach about 95 percent in the near future.

Source: CCTV