China Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement : Complete Documentation

Origin represents the economic nationality of traded goods, determined through rules of origin that fall into two categories: preferential and non-preferential. Preferential origin, linked to free trade agreements, determines whether goods qualify for reduced tariffs by meeting specific criteria negotiated for each FTA and defined by HS classification codes. These criteria include either "wholly obtained" status (goods entirely produced within the FTA territory) or "substantial transformation" requirements, which can be demonstrated through tariff classification changes, value-added calculations (percentage of local content), or specific processing operations. Non-preferential origin applies to goods traded outside FTAs and doesn't reduce tariffs but serves purposes like quotas, anti-dumping measures, trade statistics, and product labeling. Non-preferential rules, set individually by each country, generally rely on wholly obtained criteria or the country where the last substantial transformation occurred to determine origin.