Rules of Origin

Rules of origin are a collection of legal standards that define how to determine the country of origin relating to a specific shipment or piece of cargo. The country of origin can affect the duties applied to imports, eligibility for special programs, shipment admissibility, quota counts, and more. 

In some cases, correctly determining country of origin can become complicated when manufacturing processes take place across multiple borders. It can be further complicated when different countries, organizations, and trade agreements use different methods for determining country of origin.

The Two Types of Rules of Origin

Rules of origin can be broken down into two categories: non-preferential and preferential rules of origin. Non-preferential rules of origin are applied to merchandise when there is no bilateral or multilateral trade agreement in place, while preferential rules of origin are applied to merchandise to determine eligibility for special treatment under an existing trade agreement or piece of legislation.