Rules of Origin
Also known as: RoO, Origin rules
The criteria that determine where goods 'originate' for preferential tariff purposes under a free trade agreement.
Rules of Origin (RoO) are the legal criteria under a free trade agreement that determine whether goods qualify for the agreement's preferential tariff treatment. Three principal types: (1) wholly obtained — entirely produced in FTA territory; (2) change in tariff classification (CTC) — non-originating inputs undergo a specified HS-code shift; (3) regional value content (RVC) — at least X% of value is added in the territory. Each FTA writes its own product-specific rules in an annex.