RD/RO/21 29 October 2012 
 
 
Committee on Rules of Origin 
  
UNOFFICIAL ROOM DOCUMENTS 
  
 Documents issued in the RD series are not offi cial WTO documents.  They usually appear in 
their language of submission and will not be translat ed systematically into the working languages of 
the WTO.  They are intended for use in WTO meeting rooms and are attributed an unofficial symbol 
for archiving purposes only. 
 
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EUROPEAN UNION'S PROPOSED CHANGE S TO THE OVERALL ARCHITECTURE 
(APPENDIX 2 OF G/RO/W/111/Rev.6) 
 
 
1. The EU proposes the following changes to the Ru les in Appendix 2 of the draft Consolidated 
Text on Harmonized Rules of Origin (document G/RO/W111/Rev.6): 
 
APPENDIX 2 – PRODUCT SPECIFIC RULES OF ORIGIN 
 This Appendix sets forth rules for determining the country of origin of a good when the good 
is not considered to be wholly obt ained in accordance with Appendix 1. 
 Rule 1:  Determination of Origin 
 This Rule shall be applied in sequence, taking into account Rule 2 where applicable: 
(a) The country of origin of a good is the country in which the good is produced exclusively from 
originating materials; 
 Primary Rules 
(b) When a primary rule by its own terms identifies the country of origin of a good, that country 
is the country of origin of the good;  
(c) The country of origin of a good is the last country of production, provided a primary rule 
 prescribed for the good in this Appendi x has been satisfied in that country; 
 Residual Rules 
(d) The country of origin of a good is the country where a residual rule at the chapter level is 
satisfied; 
                                                      
1 In English only. RD/RO/2 
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  (d)(e)  When a good is produced by further processing of a material which is classified in the same 
subdivision2 as the good, the country of origin of the good shall be the single country in 
which the material originated; 
(e) When a good is produced by further processing a material that does not satisfy the primary 
 rule for the good, the country of origin of the good shall be the single country in which the 
 material originated.  For the purposes of this rule, account shall be taken of both originating 
 and non-originating material; 
(f) The country of origin of a good is the country where a residual rule at the chapter level is 
 satisfied; 
(g)(f)  The country of origin of a good shall be the country of origin of material or materials 
 incorporated in the good by further processing, pr ovided the origin of material or materials is 
 a single country; 
(h)(g)  When a good is produced from materials of more  than one country, the country of origin of 
the good shall be the country in which the major portion of those materials originated, as 
determined by the criterion specified in  the Chapter where the good is classified ;. For the 
purposes of this rule, account shall be taken of both originating and non-originating material;  
(i)(h)  Where the criterion for the application of Rule 1 ( gh) above specified in a Chapter is weight 
or volume, and that criterion does not lead to an origin determinationallow for origin to be 
determined , the criterion of value shall be used; wher e the criterion for the application of Rule 
1 (gh) above specified in a Chapter is value, and that criterion does not lead to an origin 
determinationallow for or igin to be determined , the criterion of weight or volume, as 
appropriate, shall be used.  
 Rule 2:  Application 
(a) The rules provided in this Appendix are to be applied to goods based upon their classification 
 in the HS as referred to in General Rule 1 of this Annex and any additional subdivisions 
 created for the purposes of this Appendix; 
(b) Reference to a change in tariff classification in primary rules shall apply only to non-
originating materials;   
(c) Reference to materials in the residual rul es shall apply to originating and non-originating 
materials. 
(cd) When the primary rule requires a change in tariff classification, the following changes in 
 classification shall not be considered in determining the origin of the good; 
 (i) changes which result from disassembly, 
 (ii) changes which result from packaging, repackaging, or putting up for retail sale, 
 (iii) changes which result solely  from application of General Ru le of Interpretation 2(a) of 
the HS with respect to collections of parts that are presented as unassembled or 
disassembled articles. 
                                                      
2 The term "subdivision" relates to the lowest level of classification of the good, i.e. heading, 
subheading, split heading or split subheading, at which a primary rule is specified in this Appendix. 
  RD/RO/2 
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  However, such changes shall not preclude confe rring origin on a good if origin is conferred as 
 a result of other operations. 
(de)  Intermediate materials  
 Materials which have acquired originating status in a country are considered to be originating 
materials of that country for the purpose of de termining the origin of a good incorporating 
such materials, or of a good made from such  materials by further working or processing in 
that country; 
(ef)   Interchangeable goods and materials  
 When it is not commercially practical to keep separate stocks of interchangeable materials or 
goods originating in different countries, the country of origin of commingled materials or 
goods that are interchangeable may be allocated on the basis of an inventory management 
method recognized in the country in which the materials or goods were commingled; 
(fg)   De Minimis 
 For the purposes of the application of primar y rules based on tariff classification change, non-
originating materials that do not satisfy the pr imary rule shall, unless otherwise specified in a 
certain Chapter, be disregarded, provided that  the totality of such materials does not exceed 
10% of the value of the good. 
 
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