The Digital Printing Market Will Benefit From These Positive Developments

On December 18, a historic moment arrived-the Hainan Free Trade Port officially initiated a full-island customs closure. Unlike the misunderstanding of 'closing the island,' customs closure refers to establishing the entire Hainan Island as a special customs supervision area, implementing liberalization and facilitation policies and systems characterized by 'opening the first line, controlling the second line,' and allowing freedom within the island.

The liberalization of the "front line" means to take the Hainan Free Trade Port and other countries and regions outside our country's customs as the "front line" and implement a series of measures to facilitate entry and exit; The "second line" control is to take the Hainan Free Trade Port and the mainland as the "second line" and implement precise management for the content of the "first line"; Freedom on the island means that in the Hainan Free Trade Port, all kinds of elements can circulate relatively freely.

With the island-wide customs closure operation of Hainan Free Trade Port, what will be the deep impact on the domestic digital printing market? And what opportunities and challenges will the industry usher in?

Policy breaks the ice, and enterprise costs are "loosened"

Customs closure is not a closure, but a higher level of openness. After the customs closure operation, the most direct change in Hainan Free Trade Port is the significant increase in the level of "zero tariff". First, there are more "zero tariff" goods. After the island-wide customs closure, the scope of "zero tariff" goods will be expanded from 1,900 tariff items before the customs closure to about 6,600 tariff items, accounting for 21% to 74%, including almost all the equipment and raw materials required for production.

Second, the main body of "zero tariff" benefits has been further expanded. Before the customs closure, only independent legal persons, enterprises and institutions registered in Hainan Free Trade Port are allowed; After the customs closure, it will be expanded to basically cover all kinds of enterprises and institutions and private non-enterprise units with actual import needs on the island.

What is more noteworthy is that after the customs closure, the import of "zero tariff" goods and their processed products is no longer limited to the own use of enterprises, but can be freely circulated among the beneficiaries and exempt from paying import taxes.

In addition, goods that enjoy a 30% tariff-free policy for processing value-added and goods that have relaxed trade controls on the "front line" will also usher in a more convenient circulation environment in Hainan. However, it should be noted that if these three types of goods want to enter other provinces in the mainland from Hainan, they still need to be supervised and inspected by customs through "second-tier ports" to ensure the standardization of trade order.

Opportunities and challenges coexist, how do enterprises layout?

While the customs closure policy has brought benefits to the industry, it also means a change in the competitive environment. Hainan's "double 15%" preferential tax policy (eligible enterprises and core talents can enjoy a 15% income tax concession) may attract new enterprises to settle in and bring new market competition.

For digital printing enterprises that intend to lay out in Hainan, they need to focus on several aspects: first, understand the new regulations on equipment import, and use old production equipment (old electromechanical) license-free and "zero tariff" policy to reduce self-consumption costs; secondly, study the "negative list" management mode after customs closure to confirm the duty-free qualification of printing equipment and consumables; Third, understand the "first-line liberalization, second-line control", and seize new opportunities for trade upgrading.

It is worth noting that Hainan will successively build characteristic digital processing trade zones to carry out cross-border services for animation, industry, geographic information and other data. Digital printing companies can explore cooperation opportunities with these industries and provide supporting printing services.

In the longer term, Hainan is located on the main route of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and is a key hub connecting domestic and international dual circulation. After the customs closure, with the accelerated agglomeration of logistics, warehousing, cross-border e-commerce and other elements, Hainan's digital printing enterprises are expected to rely on policy dividends to accumulate experience and channels for expanding cross-border printing business.

Of course, opportunities and challenges coexist. In the open environment of the free trade port, Hainan digital printing enterprises urgently need to strengthen the shortcomings of international compliance operations to meet the technical specifications and environmental protection thresholds of different markets. However, it is undeniable that the policy dividends, market increment and upgrading space brought by Hainan's customs closure are opening a new window for the local digital printing market to explore.

Hainan customs closure has injected strong development momentum into all walks of life, policy dividends have released cost advantages, industrial cluster effects have begun to appear, and an international track linking the world has been opened. Only by accurately grasping the policy orientation, optimizing the layout, and improving core capabilities can digital printing enterprises seize the opportunity in the wave of opening up of the free trade port and write a new chapter of high-quality development.