Rules of Origin Facilitator: Your Gateway to Trade Agreements in 6 Easy Steps

ITC's Rules of Origin Facilitator: findrulesoforigin.org

Do you want to make your products more affordable by reducing customs duties charged on your business transactions? Or do you want to improve your supply chain?

If the answer is yes, then the new Rules of Origin Facilitator is the tool for you. Developed by the International Trade Centre in collaboration with the World Customs Organization and the World Trade Organization.

We provide you free access to ITC databases of trade agreements, tariff schedules, rules of origin, legal trade documentation such as certificates of origin, and contacts of national trade institutions. All of this in an instant.

Let us show you how to make use of trade agreements in 6 easy steps.

Introducing Ms Nguyen. She is a savvy Vietnamese entrepreneur seeking to export sweet biscuits to the Republic of Korea. Here are some of the questions that the Rules of Origin Facilitator can help her to solve.

One. What are my trade agreements?
She makes her search and finds that Vietnam is a party to 3 trade agreements with the Republic of Korea, and the 4th one is in negotiation.

Two. What are the duty savings?
Next, she estimates duty savings offered by each trade agreement and narrows her choice to 2. She can view how recent these trade agreements are, and if other countries participate in them.

Three. What is the origin criterion?
She can see what origin criterion applies to sweet biscuits exported from Vietnam. Conversion into standard notation by ITC helps her better distil the requirement.

Four. What are the other origin provisions I have to comply with?
She can view what conditions apply to her product with direct access to legal texts. How do I cumulate materials? How do I calculate value content? Never heard of cumulation? Click on our business explainer to get up to speed with all this legalese!

Five. What are the procedures I have to go through?
Next scrolling through certification provisions, she sees the list of conditions for obtaining a certificate of origin. Pay close attention, this is what customs officers will need at the border.

Now Ms Nguyen is set to decide which trade agreement is more beneficial for her.

Six. Where is the certificate of origin?
She clicks to download the certificate of origin and can now proceed to fill it.

She goes ahead with the Korea-Vietnam bilateral free trade agreement and dives into the “Find Out More” page. On a special page dedicated to the free trade agreement between Korea and Vietnam, she checks the remaining requirements and contacts responsible trade institutions-Korean Customs or Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce – to clarify all her questions before exporting.

We are working on a self-assessment tool powered by artificial intelligence to make rules of origin more actionable than ever.

International trade presents immense opportunities for small businesses, and Rules of Origin Facilitator is your gateway to trade agreements. We can help you reap the benefits and export globally.

Visit findrulesoforigin.org now!

Copyright: International Trade Centre (ITC)
Script: ITC Trade and Market Intelligence section (TMI)
Video production: AdVids