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Criteria determining the national source of a product, including whether it qualifies for preferential trade treatment.
Save conceptRules of origin determine which country a product counts as originating in for a particular trade purpose. This matters when import charges or restrictions depend on where goods come from. The country from which a shipment arrives is not always the same as the product’s origin under the applicable rules.
A product can be made from inputs sourced in several countries. The rules may consider whether it was wholly obtained in a country or underwent sufficient production there. Requirements can use the type of processing, a change in product classification or a specified share of value. The exact rule depends on the product and the agreement, so no single test applies universally.
Consider a hypothetical garment made using fabric imported from another country. Whether the garment qualifies for preferential treatment depends on the agreement’s rule for that product and what processing occurred. Simply sending an already finished garment through a treaty partner would not automatically give it that partner’s origin. Documents support the claim but do not replace meeting the production criteria.
Origin rules differ from product safety rules and from after market entry. Preferential origin can determine eligibility for lower import charges, while other origin rules serve statistics, marking or trade measures. An agreement on reviewing origin rules is not evidence that new eligibility conditions are already in force.
India and ASEAN set deadlines for unfinished goods-pact review