RESTRICTED  
  
JOB/RO/7  
 
17 November 2016  
(16-6321) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Rules of Origin  Original: English  
 
 COMMUNICATION FROM S WITZERLAND  
Possible r ecommendations from the "Educational Exercise" on Non -Preferential Rules of Orig in and 
the "Information Session " Organized for the Committee of Rules of Origin  
The following communication, dated 15 November 2016, is  being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Switzerland.  
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Switzerland is circulat ing this communication in order to feed and facilitate informal discussions 
about principles and guidelines to streamline non -preferential rules of o rigin ( RoO). The content of 
this communication neither reflect s, nor prejudg es Switzerland’s position on Non -Preferential RoO.  
The following recommendations have been extracted from the discussions and presentations 
during the "educational exercise" on non -preferential RoO held on 21 April 2016 and the 
"information session" organized by the Committee on Rules of Origin on 21 September 2016.  
We invite members to share their views on this list of recommendations and possibly formulate 
additional recommendati ons they wish to discuss.  
I. Generalities/Streamlining  
1. As a general rule, WTO Members should not apply non -preferential origin 
requirements unless such requirements are necessary in order to implement other 
trade policy instruments, such as quotas or an ti-dumping duties.  
2. A multilateral trade environment requires consensually agreed multilateral non -
preferential rules of origin.  
3. Public and private operators have to know, understand, handle, verif y or certify a 
variety of third -country rules (that is , the importing country).  In order to streamline 
the processes and reduce compliance costs, Members could consider aligning their 
rules and procedures for determining the non -preferential origin of a product.  
4. The current complex trad ing environment calls for a streamlined and standardized 
system of rules of origin and a worldwide simple system for proving the origin of 
goods.  
II. Criteria conferring the originating status  
5. The most relevant criteria conferring the originating status are :  (i) Change of tariff 
heading ; (ii) value added ; or (iii) substantial transformation;  
6. The change of tariff heading and the value added criteria can more easily be 
computerised and automatized in the systems of the producers;  
7. In case the criterion "substantial tr ansformation " is used, it should be described in a 
way to avoid different interpretations by national customs authorities1.  National rules 
should be as simple as possible. Harmonization or streamlining of the criteria would be 
desirable . 
                                                
1 The different interpretations of the substantial transformation criterion engenders uncer tainty for 
firms.   As a result, companies may choose to implement costly tracking systems and meet a higher threshold 
than necessary to support the same origin under multiple jurisdictions  JOB/RO/7  
 
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  III. Certificatio n, Proof of origin  
8. Countries should not require a proof of non -preferential origin unless it is necessary in 
order to implement other  trade policy measure s, such as quotas or anti -dumping 
duties ; 
9. The proof of origin shall be as simple as possible and  compatible with modern 
technologies. Best practices related to electronic certification should be more widely 
diffused. In this sense, e -certificates should be more widely accepted without  paper 
copies;  
10. Simpler methods to prove compliance with rules o f origin, including the elimination  of 
a proof of origin, should be encouraged, particularly self -certification;  
11. For non -consumer goods (e.g. investment goods) it should be sufficient if origin is 
documented as per the usual commercial documents requir ements (e.g. invoice).  
IV. Origin Labelling  
12. Different regulations related to the marking of a country of origin – often related to 
consumer protection – need to be streamlined  or at least clearly communicated;  
13. Origin labelling requirements should b e restricted to:  clearly specified consumer 
products, retail or online sale (no labelling of intermediate goods), surveillance by the 
competent auth ority in the importing country;  
14. More transparency is desirable on requirements related to rules related  to marking of 
origin.  For instance, regarding the place and time (at the border or before entering 
the (consumer) market), the language of labels, etc.  
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