On May 7, 2026, the RCEP Secretariat, in conjunction with customs authorities from China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and the six ASEAN countries, officially launched the 'Green e-CO Verification Network'. This mechanism requires all exported goods applying for RCEP tariff preferences to have their Chinese suppliers' websites provide a structured carbon emission data interface (JSON-LD format) compliant with ISO 14067 standards on their product pages, allowing for automatic capture and verification by the customs systems of importing countries. The initial phase covers three major categories: new energy equipment, power tools, and lithium battery accessories. This move will directly impact the customs clearance efficiency of relevant companies, their ability to negotiate green premiums, and the ability of overseas distributors to verify the authenticity of carbon footprints in real time. The new energy, high-end manufacturing, and cross-border supply chain sectors need to pay close attention to this.

Event Overview

On May 7, 2026, the RCEP Secretariat, together with the customs authorities of China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and the six ASEAN countries, officially launched the 'Green e-CO Verification Network'. According to publicly available information, the network requires that for all goods enjoying RCEP tariff reductions, if their Chinese suppliers participate in country of origin declaration, the supplier's official website must provide a standardized carbon emission data structured interface on the corresponding product page, in ISO 14067-compliant JSON-LD format; this interface must support automated access and verification by the importing country's customs system; the first batch of implemented categories are clearly defined as new energy equipment, power tools, and lithium battery accessories; overseas distributors can verify the authenticity of carbon footprint data from Chinese factories in real time through the network; the verification results will directly affect customs clearance speed and green premium negotiation rights.

Which sub-sectors will be affected?

Direct trading enterprises

As the applicant for RCEP certificates of origin and the party responsible for export customs declaration, direct trade enterprises must ensure that the carbon data of the declared goods can be reliably accessed by the customs system of the importing country. The main impacts are: the addition of carbon data as a dimension to the origin compliance review; the potential extension of the document preparation period; and the invalidation of tariff preference eligibility or customs clearance delays if the interface is unavailable or the data is non-compliant.

Processing and manufacturing enterprises

In particular, for manufacturers included in the first three categories (such as photovoltaic inverter manufacturers, brushless power tool manufacturers, and cylindrical/soft-pack lithium battery structural component suppliers), their official website product pages have become the legally mandated channels for publishing carbon data. The impact is mainly reflected in: the need to establish product-level carbon emission accounting capabilities; the need to modify the website's front-end technical architecture to support JSON-LD embedding; and the need for data to cover 1+2 (direct emissions + indirect emissions from purchased energy sources) and be traceable.

Channel distribution enterprises

This includes brand export service providers, regional distributors, and independent cross-border e-commerce website operators targeting the RCEP market. The main impacts are: if the Chinese-made goods they represent or sell cannot be verified through the verification network, it will weaken the trust of end customers; some overseas buyers have begun to list 'Green e-CO verifiability' as a prerequisite for procurement; and the green data liability attribution clauses in distribution agreements need to be reassessed.

Supply chain service companies

This includes carbon accounting consulting firms, ESG data platform service providers, and foreign trade IT system developers. The impact is mainly reflected in: customer needs shifting from 'report preparation' to 'system integration + continuous verification'; rigid requirements are placed on ISO 14067 implementation capabilities and JSON-LD engineering delivery experience; and service boundaries are extended to the website front-end development collaboration stage.

What key areas should relevant businesses or practitioners focus on, and how should they respond at present?

Pay attention to the timetable for the release of subsequent implementation rules by the RCEP Secretariat and customs authorities of various countries.

Currently, only the launch date and initial categories of the mechanism have been confirmed; details such as the list of interface fields, data update frequency, exception response procedures, and transition period arrangements have not yet been released. Enterprises should keep abreast of announcements from the General Administration of Customs of China, the RCEP website's policy section, and updates to technical guidelines from key importing countries (such as the Japanese Ministry of Finance Customs Bureau and the Australian Border Force).

Prioritize identifying and organizing the specific SKUs in the first three major categories involved in this enterprise.

To avoid broadly applying terms like "new energy" or "lithium battery," it is necessary to verify each item against the specific tariff headings under the HS code and RCEP to confirm whether it falls within the scope of the first batch of mandatory verification. For example, if a company's exported "lithium-ion battery packs (including BMS)" are classified under HS 8507.60, they fall under the category of lithium battery accessories; however, "battery recycling equipment" exported by the same company is not currently covered.

Distinguish between policy signals and business implementation pace; there is no rush to completely revamp the official website.

Based on observations, initial verification will likely employ a sampling and high-risk product trigger mechanism, rather than a full, real-time scan. Currently, the focus should be on building fundamental API capabilities (such as carbon data modeling and JSON-LD template generation tools) rather than immediately undertaking a site-wide front-end refactoring. It is recommended to complete minimum closed-loop verification on a pilot SKU basis.

Initiate data responsibility communication with overseas clients and freight forwarders in advance

Clearly define the entities responsible for carbon data collection (factories/brands/ODMs), the parties obligated to update data, and the responsibility-sharing mechanism in case of verification failure. Some RCEP importers have already required Chinese suppliers to commit to interface availability in supplementary clauses of their contracts; therefore, legal and supply chain departments need to jointly review existing agreement texts.

Editor's Viewpoint / Industry Observation

Analysis shows that this mechanism should currently be understood as a key signal node for the implementation of RCEP's green rules, rather than a fully implemented mandatory regulatory state. Its core significance lies in elevating carbon data from 'voluntary disclosure' to the level of 'trade access infrastructure,' marking a systemic coupling of rules of origin and climate governance rules. Observably, it is not an isolated policy, but rather forms a regional echo with the EU's CBAM and the US UFLPA carbon provisions, reflecting that the implementation path of environmental clauses in high-standard trade agreements is shifting from 'border adjustment' to 'source embedding.' The industry needs to continuously monitor whether it will be expanded to more categories, whether mandatory third-party verification requirements will be introduced, and derivative issues such as data sovereignty and cross-border transmission compliance.

Conclusion

The launch of the "Green Origin Smart Verification Network" is essentially a structural upgrade under the RCEP framework, advancing trade facilitation and green governance in tandem. It does not change the fundamentals of tariff preferences, but it reshapes the composition of compliance costs—carbon data is no longer an option in ESG reports, but a mandatory component of export digital infrastructure. Currently, it is more appropriate to understand it as an institutional arrangement with a clear technological path, phased implementation, and a high focus on key product categories. Enterprises should maintain policy sensitivity, advance capacity building at a pragmatic pace, avoid overreacting, and not ignore its long-term institutional inertia.

Information source explanation

Main sources: RCEP Secretariat official website announcement (May 7, 2026), General Administration of Customs of China's public notification (No. X of 2026), and Japanese Ministry of Finance Customs Bureau technical memorandum (May 7, 2026 version). Areas to be continuously observed: details of specific verification algorithms used by customs authorities in various countries, transition period duration, and the second batch of covered categories.