Preferential treatment provided for in a free trade agreement is usually granted only to products originating from members of that FTA, so rules of origin are important. These are the criteria which determine the national origin of a product. The country of origin of a product is usually seen as the country where the last substantial transformation took place.
Enforcing and defining rules of origin for goods or services poses major problems. This issue has been very controversial in a number of agreements and trade unions and other critics have campaigned to highlight the ways in which rules of origin can be used and abused by governments and corporations alike. In particular there are concerns about the ease with which goods processed partly or fully in a third country can receive duty-free access under a bilateral agreement by being re-exported with just enough processing to satisfy rules of origin requirements. This is further complicated by the fact that different bilateral free trade agreements use different criteria to set rules of origin.
18-Dec-2017
Nanaimo
Negotiators gathered at an informal session in Washington are considering ways to work around a main impasse of the talks so far, a US demand on auto parts deemed unfeasible by Canada, Mexico and the industry.
21-Nov-2017
Reuters
Negotiators from the United States, Mexico and Canada square off for the last time in a fifth round of talks to rework the North American Free Trade Agreement, with stalemate brewing on a contentious proposal to ramp up regional content for autos.
13-Oct-2017
CNBC
The US wants 85 percent of content to come from the United States, Mexico and Canada. The request may include a demand for a 50 percent American content requirement.
19-Aug-2017
Reuters
U.S., Canadian and Mexican negotiators began digging into some of the thorniest issues in modernizing NAFTA, including rules of origin for goods produced in the region, services trade and a controversial dispute settlement system.
31-May-2017
The Globe and Mail
Mexico’s foreign minister says the country is “inevitably” set to review rules of origin when renegotiating the North American free-trade agreement.
24-May-2017
Reuters
The auto industries of the United States, Canada and Mexico agree there should be no changes to rules of origin in the North American Free Trade Agreement.
14-Feb-2017
European Commission
As published by the European Commission
31-Jan-2017
The Hindu
With China too eyeing a similar agreement with Colombo, New Delhi aims to sign expanded FTA this year.
26-Jan-2017
Politico
The Trump administration will be pushing for agreements that tighten rules-of-origin requirements, crack down on steel and aluminum dumping and reduce the trade deficit by requiring nations to buy more U.S. products
19-Jan-2017
The Globe and Mail
The Americans want to discuss country of origin rules and the independent dispute-settlement mechanism.
12-Dec-2016
European Commission
As published by the European Commission
30-Jun-2016
iPolitics
Agreement covers range of products, from pharmaceuticals to cosmetics.
10-Feb-2016
Comesa Business Council
The inaugural Tripartite Regional Dialogue will ensure inclusive participation of the private sector in the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) negotiations.
11-Jan-2016
World Trade Online
Critics of the flexibility mechanism argue that it further opens the door for more content from non-TPP countries to be included in originating vehicles and auto parts.
17-Dec-2015
Huffington Post
A short provision will remove labels telling consumers where their beef and pork comes from, but it will reveal something else.
10-Dec-2015
WSRW
A proposed agreement on protective measures for products linked to specific geographical locations, fails manifestly in understanding the geographic stretch of Morocco.
8-Dec-2015
BBC
Canada and Mexico have won a trade victory over US law requiring country of origin labelling on beef and pork.
9-Nov-2015
The Asahi Shimbun
Japan and the United States have struck a deal to ban alcoholic beverages that are not produced in the geographical area included in its brand name under the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade pact.
26-Oct-2015
Bordelex
TTIP negotiation round 11 was held in Miami, Florida: short overview of where we stand in the negotiations, issue area by issue area.
24-Oct-2015
European Commission
As released by the European Commission
