How is the origin of a product judged?

Firstly, businesses must determine what good is being traded by identifying the correct commodity code.

Once the code has been determined, businesses must establish the "economic nationality" of the goods (as opposed to identifying the country in which the goods were bought, re-packaged, or shipped from). This involves determining the value of the goods and where value has been added to produce the final product.

If all materials were obtained and processed in one country, the goods would be classed as "wholly obtained" in that country, i.e., agricultural produce. To confirm, if a product is wholly obtained in the EU or UK, or produced exclusively from originating materials, it will be considered as originating in the EU or UK.

Read our comprehensive guide to rules of origin article with lots more information, important actions businesses need to take and links to further support.