The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) entered into force on 1 January 2022. Six months into the world's largest free trade agreement, dividends for the stone industry are already visible. Based on HENGSHENG MARBLE S&T CO. LIMITED's hands-on ASEAN experience in H1, this analysis decodes the tangible impact of RCEP from three angles: tariff concessions, cumulative rules of origin and market demand.
Under RCEP, more than 65% of goods trade between China and ASEAN achieved zero tariffs immediately, with coverage expanding through the transition period. Measured on common stone HS codes, tariffs on marble blocks and slabs exported to major ASEAN economies have generally fallen by 1-3 percentage points; combined with faster customs clearance, comprehensive logistics cost per container has dropped by roughly 2-4%.
For long-term clients, this dividend converts directly into pricing advantage. In H1, RCEP certificates of origin were used in over 70% of HENGSHENG MARBLE S&T CO. LIMITED's export orders to Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand.
RCEP's cumulative rules allow inputs and value added from member states to be counted together, creating an institutional dividend for multi-country stone supply chains — orders with blocks sourced from Türkiye or Italy, deep-processed in China and exported to ASEAN can optimise tariff treatment through deliberate value-chain design.
On the demand side, infrastructure and urbanisation in major ASEAN economies are accelerating, with strong pipelines of premium commercial and hotel projects in Jakarta, Bangkok and Hanoi. HENGSHENG MARBLE S&T CO. LIMITED expects ASEAN to grow into a core incremental market alongside the Middle East within five years.
Free-trade dividends are never evenly distributed — they belong to companies that read the rules first and build the routes early.
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