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Customs & Tariff Classification

Country of Origin

Also known as: Origin

Country of origin is the country in which a product was grown, produced, manufactured, or last substantially transformed, and it is a decisive factor in determining the duty rate, eligibility for preferential treatment, exposure to trade-remedy orders, quota limits, and marking requirements. Origin is not always where an item was shipped from: a good assembled in one country from components made in several others takes its origin from the place where the last substantial transformation occurred. Because so many consequences flow from it, origin determination is a frequent subject of customs rulings, audits, and disputes.

The JFS takeLicensed customs broker · Filer 82G

Origin is not where the goods shipped from, and importers conflate the two constantly. A container loaded in Rotterdam full of Chinese-made goods is Chinese origin, and the Section 301 exposure comes with it. Under the current forced-labor actions this is the single most expensive thing to get wrong.

Where it matters for compliance

  • Origin drives the duty rate, trade-remedy exposure, marking requirements and preference eligibility.
  • Country of export and country of origin are separate fields on the entry for a reason.

Related terms

Rules of OriginRules of origin are the legal criteria used to determine the economic nationality of a product for the purpose of applying tariffs, preferences, quotas, and trade-remedy measures.Substantial TransformationSubstantial transformation is the legal test used to determine a product's country of origin when it is made from materials or components sourced in more than one country: origin is conferred by the country in which the last processing occurred that changed the article into a new and different article of commerce, with a distinct name, character, or use.Tariff / DutyA tariff, or customs duty, is a tax levied by a government on goods as they are imported (and occasionally exported), calculated most commonly as a percentage of the customs value (an ad valorem duty), as a fixed charge per unit of quantity or weight (a specific duty), or as a combination of the two (a compound duty).

Reviewed by a licensed customs broker. Definitions are general information, not legal or customs advice for a particular shipment. Duty rates, tariff programs and agency requirements change frequently.