The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between The Government of the Republic of Mauritius and The Government of the People's Republic of China was signed in October 2019 in Beijing.
Following the completion of ratification procedures by both sides, the Mauritius-China FTA entered into force on Friday 01 January 2021.
The FTA comprises of four main components which pertain to trade in goods, trade in services, investment and economic cooperation. The Agreement achieves the goal of mutually beneficial outcomes.
With regard to trade in goods, upon entry into force of the Mauritius-China FTA, Mauritius would benefit from immediate duty free access on the Chinese market on some 7,504 tariff lines. Tariffs on an additional 723 tariff lines will be phased out over a 5 to 7-year period starting on 01 January 2021. In addition, a Tariff Rate Quota for 50,000 tonnes of sugar will be implemented on a progressive basis over a period of 8 years with an initial quantity of 15,000 tonnes.
Except as otherwise provided, the following goods shall be considered as originating in Mauritius:
The following goods shall be considered as wholly obtained or produced in Mauritius:
A Certificate of Origin shall be issued by the Customs Department of the Mauritius Revenue Authority on application by exporter or producer, provided that the goods can be considered as originating in Mauritius. The contact details of the Mauritius Revenue Authority Customs Department are as follows:
Mauritius Revenue Authority
Customs Department,
Customs House
Mer Rouge
Port Louis
Tel: +230 202 0500
Email: customs@mra.mu; origin.customs@mra.mu
With respect to trade in services, both parties have agreed to remove restrictions in more than 100 service sectors. These include financial services, telecommunications, Information and Communications Technology, professional services, construction and health services.
The Mauritius-China Free Trade Agreement is China's first FTA with an African country. It will provide more solid institutional guarantee for deepening economic and trade relations between the two countries.
Doc 1 Mauritius-China FTA Text; Doc 2 Annex I Part 1 General Notes - Referred to in Chapter 2 of MUS-CH FTA Text (Trade in Goods); Doc 3 Annex I Part 2 Section A Notes for Mauritius - Referred to in Chapter 2 of MUS-CH FTA Text (Trade in Goods); Doc 4 Section B Schedule of Mauritius (Trade in Goods); Doc 5 Section A Notes for Schedule of the People's Republic of China (Trade in Goods); Doc 6 Section B Schedule of the People's Republic of China (Trade in Goods); Doc 7 Product Specific Rules of Origin (Annex II); Doc 8 Part A Schedule of Specific Commitments of the Republic of Mauritius (Trade in Services); Doc 9 Part B Schedule of Specific Commitments of the People's Republic of China (Trade in Services).