Liberalizing of Certain North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Specific Rules of Origin (French)

Issue 540, December 5, 2006

A Presidential Proclamation liberalizing the NAFTA rules of origin on certain goods was published in the Federal Register on October 13, 2006. This action was taken in accordance with section 202(q) of the NAFTA Implementation Act authorizing the President, subject to the consultation and layover requirements of section 103 of the same, to proclaim modifications to the rules of origin.

These modifications "liberalize" the NAFTA rules of origin tied to certain tariff classifications, allowing the goods falling under those classifications to more easily meet the rules of origin and receive NAFTA duty preference as "NAFTA originating goods".

The modifications made by the Annex to the Proclamation shall be effective with respect to goods of Canada and Mexico that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after July 1, 2006. Note that the effective date is retroactive to the date of the proclamation.

These modifications affect the following goods:
cocoa; cranberry juice; ores, slag, and ash; leather; cork; prepared feathers and down, artificial flowers, and articles of human hair; glass and glassware; copper; nickel; lead; zinc/ tin; other base metals; televisions; information technology agreement goods; and control instruments

More specifically these modifications affect goods in the following headings and subheadings of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS):
1806.31, 1806.90, 2009.90, 2106, 2621, 4104, 4113, 4105.10, 4105.30, 4106.21, 4106.22, 4106.31, 4106.32, 4106.40, 4106.91, 4106.92, 4107, 4112, 4113, 4114, 4115.10, 4115.20, 4501, 4504, 6701, 6702, 6704, 7001, 7002, 7401, 7403, 7501, 7504, 7505, 7507.11, 7508.90, 7803, 7806, 7901, 7903, 7904, 7907, 8003, 8004, 8007, 8101.10, 8113.00, 8528.12, 8528.13, 8528.21, 8528.22, 8528.30, 8477.10, 8477.90, 8504.40, 8504.50, 8533.10, 8533.40, 8543.11, 8543.89, 8543.11, 8543.19, 8543.20, 8543.30, 8543.40, 8543.81, 8543.89, 9009.11, 9009.91, 9009.99, 9032.20, 9032.89

Importers of the goods covered within this Proclamation should make themselves aware of these rule of origin changes, as products which were formerly ineligible for NAFTA benefits may now qualify based on the liberalized rules of origin. Upon confirmation of NAFTA eligibility under the new rules of origin, an importer may claim NAFTA duty preference on importations of the affected products. Importers may also make post-importation NAFTA claims within one year of the date of importation via 19 USC 1520(d) petitions. Except, for refunds tied directly to the above referenced NAFTA changes, post entry refunds can be made as far back as the effective date of these changes (7/01/06).

Please note that these rule of origin changes are liberalizations and do not entail further subdividing of the HTS. None of these changes will cause an effect of loss of NAFTA benefits.

DHL Global Forwarding's Regulatory & Compliance Consulting Group offers services to assist companies with their NAFTA eligibility determination, NAFTA compliance, and post-entry NAFTA duty refund claims. If you are interested in these services, please contact paul.vroman@dhl.com or karl.krueger@dhl.com

For additional detail and analysis of the affects of this liberalization and the significance of the rule of origin changes, you may refer to the U. S. International Trade Commission (USITC) publication, Probable Effect of Certain Proposed Modifications to the North American Free Trade Agreement Rules of Origin, available on the USITC website at: http://www.usitc.gov/publications/abstract_3802.htm

The Presidential Proclamation and Annex are available from the Government Printing Office website at: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/pdf/06-8715.pdf