-
Agreement on Rules of Origin
Members,
Noting
that Ministers on 20
September
1986
agreed that the Uruguay Round of
Multilateral Trade Negotiations shall
aim
to
“bring
about
further
liberalization
and
expansion
of
world
trade”,
“strengthen
the
role
of
GATT”
and
“increase
the
responsiveness
of
the
GATT system to the
evolving international economic
environment”;
Desiring
to further the
objectives of
GATT
1994;
Recognizing
that clear and predictable
rules of
origin
and
their
application
facilitate
the
flow
of
international
trade;
Desiring
to
ensure that rules of origin
themselves
do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade;
Desiring
to ensure that
rules of origin do not
nullify or
impair the rights of Members under GATT
1994;
Recognizing
that it is
desirable to provide
transparency of
laws, regulations, and practices regarding rules
of
origin;
Desiring
to ensure that
rules of origin are
prepared and
applied in an impartial, transparent, predictable,
consistent and neutral manner;
Recognizing
the
availability
of
a
consultation
mechanism and procedures for the
speedy, effective and equitable
resolution of disputes arising under
this Agreement;
Desiring
to harmonize and
clarify rules of
origin;
Hereby
agree
as follows:
Part I: Definitions and
Coverage
Article 1: Rules of Origin
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1.
For the purposes of Parts I to IV of
this Agreement,
rules of origin shall
be defined as those laws, regulations and
administrative determinations of
general application applied by any
Member to determine the country of
origin of goods provided such rules
of
origin are not related to contractual or
autonomous trade regimes
leading
to
the
granting
of
tariff
preferences
going
beyond
the
application
of paragraph 1
of Article
I of GATT
1994.
2.
Rules of origin referred to in
paragraph
1 shall
include
all rules of origin used in non-preferential
commercial policy
instruments, such as
in the application of:
most-favoured-
nation
treatment under Articles
I, II, III, XI and XIII of
GATT
1994;
anti-
dumping and countervailing duties under Article
VI
of GATT
1994;
safeguard measures under Article
XIX of
GATT
1994;
origin marking requirements under
Article
IX of
GATT
1994;
and
any
discriminatory
quantitative
restrictions
or
tariff
quotas.
They shall also include rules of origin used for
government
procurement and trade
statistics.(
1
)
Part II: Disciplines to Govern the
Application of Rules
of Origin
Article 2:
Disciplines
During
the
Transition
Period
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Until
the
work
programme
for
the
harmonization
of
rules
of
origin
set
out
in Part
IV is completed, Members shall ensure
that:
(a)
when they issue administrative
determinations of
general application,
the requirements to be
fulfilled are
clearly
defined. In particular:
(i)
in cases where the criterion of change
of tariff
classification is
applied, such a rule of origin, and any exceptions
to
the rule, must clearly specify the
subheadings or headings within the
tariff nomenclature that are addressed
by the rule;
(ii)
in
cases
where
the
ad
valorem
percentage
criterion
is
applied, the method for
calculating this percentage shall also be
indicated in the rules of origin;
(iii)
in cases where the criterion of
manufacturing or
processing
operation
is
prescribed,
the
operation
that
confers
origin
on
the good concerned shall be precisely
specified;
(b)
notwithstanding the measure or instrument of
commercial
policy
to
which
they
are
linked,
their
rules
of
origin
are
not
used as
instruments to pursue trade objectives directly or
indirectly;
(c)
rules of
origin shall not themselves create
restrictive, distorting, or disruptive
effects on international
trade.
They shall not pose unduly strict
requirements or require the
fulfilment
of a certain condition not related to
manufacturing or
processing, as a
prerequisite for the determination of the country
of
origin.
However, costs
not directly related to manufacturing or
processing may be included for the
purposes of the application of an
ad
valorem percentage criterion consistent
with subparagraph
(a);
(d)
the rules of origin that they apply to
imports and
exports are not more
stringent than the rules of origin they apply to
determine whether or not a good is
domestic and shall not discriminate
between other Members, irrespective of
the affiliation of the
manufacturers of
the good concerned (
2
)
(e)
their
rules
of
origin
are
administered
in
a
consistent,
uniform,
impartial and reasonable manner;
(f)
their rules of origin are based on a
positive
standard.
Rules of
origin that state what does not confer origin
(negative standard) are permissible as
part of a clarification of a
positive
standard or in individual cases where a positive
determination
of origin is not
necessary;
(g)
their laws,
regulations, judicial decisions and
administrative
rulings
of
general
application
relating
to
rules
of
origin
are published as if
they were subject to, and in accordance with, the
provisions of paragraph 1 of Article X
of GATT
1994;
(h)
upon
the
request
of
an
exporter,
importer
or
any
person
with
a
justifiable
cause,
assessments
of
the
origin
they
would accord
to
a
good
are
issued
as
soon
as
possible
but
no
later
than
150
days(
3
)
after
a
request
for
such
an
assessment
provided
that
all
necessary
elements
have
been
submitted.
Requests
for
such
assessments
shall
be
accepted
before
trade
in
the
good
concerned
begins
and
may
be
accepted
at
any
later
point
in
time.
Such assessments shall remain
valid for three years provided
that
the
facts
and
conditions,
including
the
rules
of
origin,
under
which
they have been made
remain comparable.
Provided that the
parties
concerned are informed in
advance, such assessments will no longer be
valid when a decision contrary to the
assessment is made in a review as
referred
to
in
subparagraph
(j).
Such
assessments
shall
be
made
publicly
available subject
to the provisions of subparagraph
(k);
(i)
when
introducing
changes
to
their
rules
of
origin
or
new rules of origin, they shall not
apply such changes retroactively as
defined in, and without prejudice to,
their laws or regulations;
(j)
any
administrative
action
which
they
take
in
relation
to
the
determination
of
origin
is
reviewable
promptly
by
judicial,
arbitral
or administrative
tribunals or procedures, independent of the
authority
issuing
the
determination,
which
can
effect
the
modification
or
reversal
of the
determination;
(k)
all
information that is by nature confidential or that
is provided on a confidential basis for
the purpose of the application
of
rules
of
origin
is
treated
as
strictly
confidential
by
the
authorities
concerned, which
shall not disclose it without the specific
permission
of the person or government
providing such information, except to the
extent
that
it
may
be
required
to
be
disclosed
in
the
context
of
judicial
proceedings.
Article 3:
Disciplines
after
the
Transition
Period
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Taking
into
account
the
aim
of
all
Members
to
achieve,
as
a
result
of
the
harmonization work
programme set out in Part
IV, the
establishment of
harmonized
rules
of
origin,
Members
shall
ensure,
upon
the
implementation
of the
results of the harmonization work programme, that:
(a)
they apply
rules of origin equally for all purposes as
set out in Article
1;
(b)
under their rules of
origin, the country to be
determined
as
the
origin
of
a
particular
good
is
either
the
country
where
the good has been wholly obtained or,
when more than one country is
concerned
in the production of the good, the country where
the last
substantial transformation has
been carried out;
(c)
the rules of origin that they apply to imports and
exports are not more stringent than the
rules of origin they apply to
determine
whether or not a good is domestic and shall not
discriminate
between other Members,
irrespective of the affiliation of the
manufacturers of the good concerned;
(d)
the rules of origin are administered
in a consistent,
uniform, impartial and
reasonable manner;
(e)
their laws,
regulations, judicial decisions and
administrative
rulings
of
general
application
relating
to
rules
of
origin
are published as if
they were subject to, and in accordance with, the
provisions of paragraph 1 of Article X
of GATT
1994;
(f)
upon the
request of an exporter, importer or any person
with
a
justifiable
cause,
assessments
of
the
origin
they
would accord
to
a
good are issued as soon as possible but no later
than 150 days after
a
request
for
such
an
assessment
provided
that
all
necessary
elements
have
been
submitted.
Requests
for
such
assessments
shall
be
accepted
before
trade
in
the
good
concerned
begins
and
may
be
accepted
at
any
later
point
in
time.
Such assessments shall remain
valid for three years provided
that
the
facts
and
conditions,
including
the
rules
of
origin,
under
which
they have been made
remain comparable.
Provided that the
parties
concerned are informed in
advance, such assessments will no longer be
valid when a decision contrary to the
assessment is made in a review as
referred to in subparagraph
(h).
Such assessments shall
be made
publicly available subject to
the provisions of subparagraph
(i);
(g)
when
introducing
changes
to
their
rules
of
origin
or
new
rules of
origin, they shall not apply such changes
retroactively as
defined in, and
without prejudice to, their laws or regulations;
(h)
any
administrative
action
which
they
take
in
relation
to
the determination of origin is reviewable promptly
by judicial,
arbitral or administrative
tribunals or procedures, independent of the
authority issuing the determination,
which can effect the modification
or
reversal of the determination;
(i)
all information which is by nature
confidential or
which is provided on a
confidential basis for the purpose of the
application
of
rules
of
origin
is
treated
as
strictly
confidential
by
the
authorities concerned, which shall not
disclose it without the specific
permission
of
the
person
or
government
providing
such
information,
except
to the extent that it
may be required to be disclosed in the context of
judicial proceedings.
Part
III:
Procedural
Arrangements
on
Notification,
Review,
Consultation
and
Dispute
Settlement
Article 4:
Institutions
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1.
There is hereby
established a Committee on Rules of
Origin (referred to in this Agreement
as “the Committee”) composed of
the
representatives
from
each
of
the
Members.
The
Committee
shall
elect
its own Chairman and
shall meet as necessary, but not less than once a
year,
for
the
purpose
of
affording
Members
the
opportunity
to
consult
on
matters relating to the operation of
Parts
I,
II,
III
and
IV or the
furtherance
of
the
objectives
set
out
in
these
Parts
and
to
carry
out
such
other responsibilities
assigned to it under this Agreement or by the
Council for Trade in Goods.
Where appropriate, the Committee shall
request information and advice from the
Technical Committee referred to
in
paragraph
2
on
matters
related
to
this
Agreement.
The
Committee
may
also
request
such
other
work
from
the
Technical
Committee
as
it
considers
appropriate
for
the
furtherance
of
the
above-mentioned
objectives
of
this
Agreement.
The WTO Secretariat shall act as the secretariat
to the
Committee.
2.
There shall be established a Technical Committee
on
Rules of Origin (referred to in this
Agreement as “the Technical
Committee”)
under
the
auspices
of
the
Customs
Co
-operation
Council
(CCC)
as
set out in Annex
I.
The
Technical Committee shall carry out the
technical
work
called
for
in
Part
IV
and
prescribed
in
Annex
I.
Where
appropriate,
the
Technical
Committee
shall
request
information
and
advice
from
the
Committee
on
matters
related
to
this
Agreement.
The
Technical
Committee may also
request such other work from the Committee as it
considers appropriate for the
furtherance of the above-mentioned
objectives of the Agreement.
The CCC Secretariat shall act as the
secretariat to the Technical Committee.
Article
5:
Information
and
Procedures
for
Modificationand
Introduction
of
New
Rules
of
Origin
back to
top
1.
Each
Member
shall
provide
to
the
Secretariat,
within
90 days after the date of entry into
force of the WTO Agreement for it,
its
rules of origin, judicial decisions, and
administrative rulings of
general
application relating to rules of origin in effect
on that
date.
If by
inadvertence a rule of origin has not been
provided, the
Member concerned shall
provide it immediately after this fact becomes
known.
Lists
of
information
received
and
available
with
the
Secretariat
shall be
circulated to the Members by the Secretariat.
2.
During
the
period
referred
to
in
Article
2,
Members
introducing modifications, other than
de
minimis
modifications, to
their rules of origin
or introducing new
rules of
origin,
which, for the
purpose of this Article,
shall include any
rule of
origin
referred to in
paragraph
1
and
not
provided
to
the
Secretariat,
shall
publish
a
notice
to
that
effect
at
least
60
days
before
the
entry
into
force
of
the
modified
or new rule in such
a manner as to enable interested parties to become
acquainted with the intention
to modify a rule
of origin
or to introduce
a
new
rule
of
origin,
unless
exceptional
circumstances
arise
or
threaten
to
arise for a Member.
In these
exceptional cases, the Member shall
publish the modified or new rule as
soon as possible.
Article
6: Review
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1.
The Committee shall review
annually the
implementation
and
operation
of
Parts
II
and
III
of
this
Agreement
having
regard to its objectives.
The Committee shall annually inform the
Council for Trade in Goods of
developments during the period covered by
such reviews.
2.
The
Committee
shall
review
the
provisions
of
Parts
I,
II and
III and propose amendments as necessary
to reflect the results
of the
harmonization work programme.