Country of origin

A good can be "Made in Vietnam" for marking and duty, yet fail the rule that would let it qualify for a preference under a Vietnam agreement. Keep the two questions apart on your records.

The WTO Agreement on Rules of Origin points members to the same principle, but its harmonisation work never finished, so the detail stays national.

EU. Under Article 60(2) of the Customs Code, the last processing has to be substantial and economically justified, in an undertaking equipped for it, and result in a new product or an important stage of manufacture. Annex 22-01 of the Delegated Regulation has legally binding rules for listed goods, with a residual rule that goes to the country supplying the largest share of materials. For everything else it's assessed case by case.

US. The test is whether the article emerges with a new name, character or use. CBP looks at the origin of components, how much processing occurs in each country, the design work, testing and worker skill, and no single factor decides it. Courts have been reluctant to find a change in character from assembly alone, and further processing that leaves a product's identity intact fails too: beet concentrate concentrated further in China stayed US or French. CBP has applied the test to China Section 301 duties: in that ruling a motor assembled in Mexico was Mexican for marking but Chinese for the duty. The July 2026 forced-labour duties apply to "products of" each economy, and we found no separate origin rule in that notice. Textiles and apparel have their own rule, which follows the tariff, and USMCA goods have separate marking rules in part 102.

The UK and others have their own rules, so do check. An EU decision doesn't bind the US, or the other way round.

These two are our own illustrations, not rulings.

Assembly that doesn't move origin. A speaker with a Chinese driver, amplifier and cabinet is put together in Malaysia in about 10 minutes, with screws and a press-fit. Each part already has its character, and the work is simple. Its origin for US purposes is likely to stay China, because nothing new came out of the process.

Processing that can. Chinese stainless coil is cut, deep-drawn, welded and finished into cookware in Thailand. The coil has become a new article with a new name and a new use, so a Thai origin is much easier to argue. Cookware of this kind may also meet the metals duties, so check that separately.

Now take a $50,000 line of those speakers, with an assumed 5% general rate, not covered by Section 232, and assume they're on a 25% China Section 301 list. These are the July 2026 forced-labour rates, as of 5 November 2026, which are 12.5% for China and 10% for Malaysia:

That's $13,750 riding on one field, and it's why customs looks hard at transhipment and light assembly. On the facts above, declaring Malaysia would look wrong, however convenient. CBP rulings are public, and you can ask for one on your own goods before you commit. Current rates are at US tariff changes.

In the US, every article of foreign origin, or its container where that's allowed, has to be marked in English, conspicuously, legibly and as permanently as the article allows, so the ultimate purchaser knows where it came from. An unmarked shipment may have to be marked, exported or destroyed under supervision. Other countries have their own marking rules and may tie them to food, textile or consumer law, and "Made in" claims are also subject to advertising and consumer protection rules.

1. For each SKU, list the components with their origin and value.
2. Write down the manufacturing steps and where each one happens.
3. Apply the destination's rule, and record your reasoning.
4. Get supplier statements for components you can't see being made.
5. Ask for a ruling if the duty difference justifies it. The EU offers binding origin information, and the US issues rulings on origin.
6. Recheck when a supplier or a factory changes.

Then put the origin on every invoice line. If you're not sure of it for a duty quote, use the import duty calculator for both candidate origins to see what's at stake.