Non-preferential origin

Definition and principle

Non-preferential origin determines the "economic nationality" of goods without any link to a free trade agreement. It serves to apply trade policy measures: anti-dumping and countervailing duties, quotas, embargoes, origin marking ("Made in"), public procurement, and foreign trade statistics.

Legal framework

Non-preferential origin rules are defined by articles 22 to 26 of the UCC (Regulation EU 952/2013) and articles 31 to 36 of Delegated Regulation 2015/2446. Annex 22-01 of the Delegated Regulation lists product-specific criteria. At the international level, the WTO Agreement on Rules of Origin (1994) aims to harmonise these rules, but the harmonisation work programme remains incomplete.

Determination criteria

• Goods wholly obtained in a single country have the origin of that country (natural products, animals born and raised, etc.)
• Goods manufactured from materials originating in several countries take the origin of the country of last substantial transformation (article 24 of the UCC)
• The specific criteria in Annex 22-01 define what constitutes substantial transformation for each product type (tariff classification change, value added, specific operation)

Differences from preferential origin

• Non-preferential origin does not entitle to customs duty reductions
• No cumulation possible: only processing in a single country is taken into account
• The criteria are often different from those in free trade agreements for the same product
• A product may have a preferential origin different from its non-preferential origin