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rules of origin

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.

North Korean-made sneakers may trip $29 billion US trade pact
6-Mar-2006
North Korean workers stitching Made in Korea labels on $150 sneakers may hold the key to a $29 billion free-trade agreement between the US and South Korea, the biggest US accord in a decade.
TNC fails to finalize free trade accord
16-Feb-2006
The seven BIMSTEC member countries failed to agree on rules of origin criteria and other outstanding issues, which left text of FTA accord on trade in goods undecided in Bangkok this week.
Bimstec FTA needs to cross one more river
2-Feb-2006
The proposed India-Bimstec (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan) free trade agreement to be implemented from July 1 2006 has to cross one last hurdle.
BIMSTEC finalizes dispute resolution rules
1-Jan-2006
Trade Negotiation Committee has finalized rules for settling disputes in BIMSTEC free trade agreement. It has, however, failed to converge on the percentage of value addition for rules of origin.
Nepal’s preparation still lackluster for fruitful SAFTA
26-Dec-2005 NewsLineNepal
Both government and private sector are showing lackluster preparation for implementing the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA), even as the date is approaching for the formal enforcement of the agreement in Nepal.
Kenya, Sudan solve dispute
19-Dec-2005
Kenya and Sudan have sorted out differences over the compliance of Comesa rules of origin.
Japanese demand better standards
17-Dec-2005
Japanese fruit producers and exporters have called for their Thai counterparts to upgrade sanitary and food safety standards if they want to succeed in promoting Thai fruit consumption in Japan.
India may ink preferential trade pact with Mauritius
22-Sep-2005 Business Standard
India and Mauritius are likely to enter into a Preferential Trading Agreement before going for a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA).
SAARC committee of experts to meet on FTA issue
8-Sep-2005 Xinhua
The Committee of Experts of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) have decided to meet for yet another round and forward the outstanding issues of South Asia Free Trade Area (SAFTA) to political level for final decision, a Nepali government official said Wednesday.
Crucial FTA talks resume in Tokyo
23-Aug-2005
The free trade talks between Thailand and Japan are approaching a crucial step, with officials preparing to address the origin of products, the last and thorniest issue on the agenda.
BIMSTEC trade experts to settle FTA issues in July 2006
17-Aug-2005 Mizzima News
Trade experts of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) are working on settling various issues pertaining to trade and investment in a bid to start a journey towards free trade area (FTA) among member countries from July 2006.
Deadlock on FTA with Thailand
12-Aug-2005
The high-level negotiating team from Thailand that visited New Delhi recently was unable to break the impasse on the India-Thailand free trade agreement.
Somkid: FTA with Japan hinges on rule changes for farm goods
12-Aug-2005
Commerce Minister Somkid Jatusripitak - under pressure from local businesses - yesterday assured them that the government would not sign a free-trade pact with Japan unless it is satisfied with terms concerning rules of origin for farm goods.
FTA fine print remains a big hurdle
2-Aug-2005
Bilateral free-trade agreements typically revolve around discussions of quotas and tariffs and the principle of market access for traders. But an even more crucial component is rules of origin. In the end, an agreement without clear, practical and fair rules is nothing but a can of food with no opener _ you know the food is in there, you just can’t eat it.
Committee agrees on FTA elements
25-Jul-2005
In a meeting held recently at the Ministry of Finance and Industry (MoFI) in Dubai, the Rules of Origin National Committee agreed upon various elements including the official forms that will be adopted in the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) that are currently under negotiation between the UAE and other countries.
’Govt must not relent on Rules of Origin’
18-Jul-2005 The Statesman
The government must not relent under any pressure from ASEAN countries to dilute the Rules of Origin that India has framed before signing the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement with Singapore, the Indian Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry has said.
Trade pact with Thai hits a fresh bump
17-Jul-2005
India’s proposed free trade agreement (FTA) with Thailand has hit a fresh roadblock with the latter insisting on the use of just the value-added criteria for determining rules of origin (ROO) instead of the twin criteria adopted under the early harvest scheme (EHS) presently under implementation.
FTA partners unhappy with Indian ROR rider
12-Jul-2005 Economic Times
India is under pressure from the Asian countries for relaxation in the rules of origin, commonly referred to as RORs.
New rules of origin approach for India-Asean FTA by mid-July
21-Jun-2005
India is set to finalise new Rules of Origin (ROO), the criteria that determine the country of origin of the product, for the India-Asean Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by July 15, 2005.
New rules of origin for India-Asean FTA in July
11-Jun-2005 Financial Express
India will formulate a new set of rules of origin (ROO) for its free trade agreement (FTA) with the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) by mid-July.