E-Commerce has experienced rapid growth in recent years. Cosmetics is among the fastest growing consumer products. In China the stimulus effect from facilitation policies is obvious if looking at the import cosmetic products which are listed on the mandated item list which are eligible for simplified cross-border procedures.

China launched Free Trade Zone in 2013 (right at this time Oct), with Shanghai FTZ as a pilot; since then, several cross-border e-commerce zones were mandated by central government with trade facilitation measures such as bonded import, direct mail implemented. By the end of 2019, a total of 59 Cross-border e-commerce pilot zones across China were approved.

To accommodate the consumer demands for import goods, China implemented a 'white list' approach in regulating cross-border retail imports. The regulation officially entered into force in 2018. Importing the items listed could be eligible to certain simplified clearance procedures.

This has stimulated the trade on consumer products, including healthcare, dairy, food and cosmetics. The latter, cosmetic products are among the fastest growing category, as it was a typically high tariff rates yet large demand. We have identified a total of thirty tariff line products under HS30 that are listed in the first list and analysed trade data. The stimulating effects are apparent, with CAGR rate in the past three years remaining at 51%. Major import origins spread across Asia, North America and Europe.

The article analyses China cosmetics imports from different angles by drilling down into trade statistics to reveal the situation and implication for the industry. Read the full article.

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Posted 14 October 2020 by Yingzhi Zhang, Shipping Solution Specialist, S&P Global Commodity Insights