RCEP · 15 members

RCEP origin calculator

Confirm the RCEP preference holds before you claim it.

RCEP's edge is 15-member cumulation: inputs from any member count toward origin. Get the cumulation maths wrong and you either miss a preference you qualified for (overpaying duty) or claim one you did not (a retrospective duty demand on Customs verification). The BOM country-of-origin split is where the determination turns.

Type the final-product HS, the FOB, and the bill of materials with each input's country of origin; the tool applies RCEP 15-member cumulation and returns the recommended origin criterion to declare.

Last updated 2026-05-09. Math runs in your browser, no data leaves your computer.

Final product

The HS code on the export invoice and the certificate. The PSR is set at the 6-digit line, so enter at least six digits.

The FOB selling price. Use the same currency for every bill-of-materials value below; the percentage math is currency-neutral.

How the product is actually made. Synthesis and extraction can reach Wholly Obtained; blending and repackaging rarely confer origin on their own.

Bill of materials

RCEP allows cumulation across 15 members. Mark each input with country code.

RCEP PSR sampler (chemical chapters)
HS range Rule
Ch 25 (salt, sulphur, earths and stones) CTH OR RVC40
Ch 28 (inorganic chemicals) CTSH OR RVC40 (build-up or build-down)
Ch 29 (organic chemicals) CTSH OR RVC40 (build-up or build-down)
Ch 32 (tanning and dyeing extracts, dyes, paints, inks) CTH OR RVC40
Ch 33 (essential oils, perfumes, cosmetic preparations) CTH OR RVC40
Ch 38 (miscellaneous chemical products) CTH OR RVC40
Ch 39 (plastics in primary forms, articles of plastic) CTH OR RVC40
3808 (insecticides, fungicides, herbicides) CTSH OR RVC40

Sampler. The full RCEP product-specific rules are in Annex 3A of the RCEP text.

RCEP member countries (15)
  • CN: China
  • AU: Australia
  • NZ: New Zealand
  • JP: Japan
  • KR: Korea
  • BN: Brunei Darussalam
  • KH: Cambodia
  • ID: Indonesia
  • LA: Laos
  • MY: Malaysia
  • MM: Myanmar
  • PH: Philippines
  • SG: Singapore
  • TH: Thailand
  • VN: Vietnam

General guidance only. Verify against the cited primary sources before you commit to a shipment, declaration, or contract.

RCEP origin and cumulation in chemical-trade context

RCEP is the largest FTA by GDP, covering 15 countries that together account for roughly 30 percent of global GDP and 30 percent of global population. It came into force on 1 January 2022 for the original 10 signatories and phased in for the remaining 5. For chemical exporters, RCEP delivers two practical wins. First, tariff phase-down to 0 percent on most chemical HS lines, on a schedule that varies by country pair (some lines are 0 percent immediately; some phase over 10 to 20 years). Second, full cumulation across the 15 members.

Cumulation is the technical term for "treat materials from any RCEP member as originating". A Chinese exporter manufacturing in China using inputs from Vietnam, Thailand, and Korea can count all three as "originating" under RCEP, even though only China is the manufacturer. The same BOM under ChAFTA would treat Vietnam, Thailand, and Korea as non-originating, because ChAFTA is bilateral. The cumulation effect is significant: chemical synthesis often relies on intermediates from multiple Asian sources, and RCEP cumulation flips many of those from non-originating to originating, which raises the RVC build-down and clears the threshold more often.

The RCEP rule structure is similar to ChAFTA: per-HS PSR with WO / CTC / RVC options. Most chemical chapters allow CTH or CTSH or RVC40 (build-down or build-up). The threshold is 40 percent for chemical chapters. The output document is the RCEP Certificate of Origin (or, in some implementations, a Declaration of Origin), issued by CCPIT or CIQ in China, by the relevant chamber of commerce in other RCEP members.

For a Chinese chemical export to Australia, the importer can claim under either ChAFTA or RCEP. The rate may be the same (often both 0 percent) or may differ. Where the rates are equal, the choice usually goes to whichever is easier to support: ChAFTA bilateral CO is the most-used path; RCEP CO becomes the better path when the BOM uses non-Chinese RCEP inputs that fail the ChAFTA bilateral check but pass the RCEP cumulation check.

The ChAFTA comparison and the RCEP certificate generator are linked below.

A worked example

The booking. You synthesise a specialty chemical in China (HS 2918) at FOB 240,000, with key intermediates worth 160,000 sourced from Vietnam and Korea. You start to fill the ChAFTA certificate the buyer asked for.

The failure. ChAFTA says no. It is bilateral, so the Vietnamese and Korean intermediates are non-originating, the build-down RVC is (240,000 minus 160,000) / 240,000 = 33%, short of the 40% floor, and the inputs share the product's tariff heading so the change-in-tariff test fails too. On ChAFTA the goods do not qualify, and the buyer pays full duty.

The fix. Run it under RCEP instead. Vietnam and Korea are both RCEP members, so cumulation treats their intermediates as originating, the non-originating value drops to near zero, and the RVC clears comfortably. Issue an RCEP certificate of origin rather than ChAFTA and the same shipment lands duty-free. The agreement you pick, not the bill of materials, decides it.

Comparing against the bilateral route? The ChAFTA preference calculator runs the same BOM without cumulation at /tools/compliance-and-risk/chafta-preference-calculator.

Criterion confirmed and ready to issue? The RCEP certificate of origin generator builds the form at /tools/documentation/rcep-certificate-of-origin-generator.

Frequently asked

What is RCEP?

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is a 15-member free-trade agreement covering China, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, plus all 10 ASEAN states (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam). RCEP is the largest FTA by GDP. It came into force on 1 January 2022.

How is RCEP different from ChAFTA?

RCEP allows full cumulation across all 15 members. Materials originating in any RCEP member country count as "originating" for the purpose of the rules of origin. ChAFTA is bilateral (China and Australia only); ChAFTA cumulation is between the two countries only. Practical effect: a Vietnamese intermediate used in Chinese manufacturing counts as originating under RCEP, not under ChAFTA.

Which preferential rate applies?

For Chinese-origin chemical exports to Australia, both ChAFTA and RCEP usually apply, but the rates may differ. ChAFTA rates are largely 0 percent. RCEP rates phase to 0 percent over varying schedules per HS line. Importer can claim under whichever FTA gives the better rate, provided the goods qualify under that FTA. Run both calculators for high-volume products.

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