WTO Agreement on Rules of Origin · FTA product-specific rules
Rules verified against USMCA, EU-UK TCA & WTO Tariff Profiles — dataset v2026.06.11.
Verify whether your product qualifies for preferential origin under USMCA, EU-UK TCA, RCEP, CPTPP, EU-Japan EPA, or EU-Korea FTA — and estimate the duty savings vs MFN.
Specimen
Certificate of Preferential Origin
HS 8517.12 · Mexico → United States · USMCA Annex 4-B
Specimen, not advice. Every figure above is this worksheet's own default scenario, computed live against dataset v2026.06.11 — change the inputs below and the verdict, rule, saving and document recompute instantly.
Verdict
Qualifies for preferential origin
CTSH satisfies USMCA Annex for chapter 85. CTSH or 60% RVC (transaction value).
After the origin verdict
Once you know whether the good qualifies for the FTA preference, the next steps are the landed cost behind the duty and the shipment itself. Easyship is a cross-border platform that estimates duty and taxes, generates customs paperwork and compares multi-courier rates for international shipments.
See cross-border shipping on EasyshipEasyship is an independent platform; this is an untracked link to their site and we are not yet in their partner programme, so we earn nothing from it today. No partner prices are quoted here — only the WTO/USMCA/EU-FTA-sourced origin facts in the worksheet above. Easyship is not affiliated with the WTO or this tool.
Free self-assessment. The specimen above is the default scenario; enter your own HS code, origin, destination and claimed rule and the verdict, the duty saved and the required document recompute instantly — entirely in your browser, nothing leaves your device.
A good earns the free-trade-agreement preferential rate (usually a reduced or zero duty, vs the standard MFN duty) only when it meets the agreement's rules of origin: either wholly obtained in the partner territory, or sufficiently transformed there to satisfy the product-specific rule for its HS chapter — a tariff shift (CTSH / CTH / CC), a regional-value-content threshold (40–75% depending on the agreement and method), or a specific process rule such as yarn-forward. The importer claims the preference on entry and must hold the proof of origin — a EUR.1, a statement on origin, or a USMCA certification, depending on the agreement.
Machinery (HS 84–85) from Mexico to the United States pays 0% duty instead of the chapter-median MFN rate when it meets USMCA's rule of origin — a change of tariff sub-heading (CTSH) or ≥60% regional value content. The threshold depends on the agreement, not the product: the same chapter needs only 40% RVC under RCEP but 60% under USMCA. → test your own build in the worksheet below.
| Agreement | Tariff-shift path | RVC threshold |
|---|---|---|
| USMCA | CTSH | 60% |
| EU-UK TCA | CTSH | 50% |
| EU-Japan EPA | CTSH | 50% |
| EU-Korea FTA | CTH | 45% |
| CPTPP | CTSH | 45% |
| RCEP | CTSH | 40% |
CPTPP allows 45% build-down or 35% build-up. EU agreements express the threshold as a MaxNOM cap on non-originating materials against the ex-works price. Vehicles (HS 87) under USMCA are stricter: 75% net-cost RVC plus steel, aluminium and labour-value-content rules.
Last updated: · Data verified: against USMCA Annex 4-B (USTR), EU-UK TCA Annex ORIG-2 (EUR-Lex) & WTO Tariff Profiles.
The checker resolves your origin and destination against the membership tables of six free-trade agreements — USMCA, the EU-UK TCA, the EU-Japan EPA, the EU-Korea FTA, CPTPP, and RCEP. If a common agreement exists, it looks up the product-specific rule (PSR) bucket for the chapter of your HS code and evaluates the rule you claim against the inputs you provide.
CTSH requires every non-originating input to change tariff sub-heading (6 digits) during production; CTH raises that bar to the 4-digit heading and CC to the 2-digit chapter. RVC instead asks whether enough of the value — typically 40-75% depending on the agreement and method — was added inside the FTA region, which is why the worksheet asks for your achieved percentage. PSR_PROCESS covers fact-intensive process rules such as yarn-forward in textiles, where the manufacturing route itself decides the outcome.
When a claim qualifies, the estimate multiplies your shipment value by the MFN rate that would otherwise apply. If you leave the MFN field empty, the worksheet uses a chapter-bucket default taken from WTO Tariff Profile medians; enter the exact rate from your destination tariff schedule for a tighter figure. Preferential rates are assumed to be zero, which is the common — but not universal — case in mature agreements.
Each agreement names its own proof of origin: USMCA certification of origin, statements on origin under the EU-UK TCA, EUR.1 or origin declarations elsewhere. The worksheet lists the document the matched FTA expects and grades how exposed the claim is if customs challenges it: process rules are hardest to evidence, RVC claims depend on a defensible costing method, and tariff-shift claims are mostly documentary.
It does not read the official PSR annex line-by-line for your exact sub-heading — annexes run to hundreds of pages per agreement and change with each HS revision. Chapter-bucket rules are calibrated to the most commonly traded categories, so treat the verdict as a structured first pass, then verify against the agreement's legal text or a licensed customs broker before filing.
Three patterns through the worksheet (dataset v2026.06.11), including the edge cases that surprise first-time filers. Enter your own origin, destination, HS code and achieved RVC above to test your build.
Chapter 85 under USMCA accepts CTSH or 60% RVC. Non-originating circuit boards enter under heading 85.34 and leave inside a finished phone under 85.17, so the sub-heading change is satisfied and the entry qualifies — documented with a USMCA certification of origin carrying the Annex 5-A data elements. Audit risk: low, the claim is documentary. → test your build in the worksheet above.
Both countries belong to CPTPP and RCEP. Under CPTPP, chapter 61 is governed by yarn-forward — an RVC percentage is irrelevant, so a 50% RVC claim returns 'does not qualify'. Under RCEP the same shirt needs only CTH or 40% RVC, with no yarn-forward. Which agreement you elect changes the duty owed at the textile chapter's median MFN rate — verify the election against RCEP Annex 3A before filing. → test your build in the worksheet above.
Vehicles are USMCA's hardest case: 75% RVC on the net-cost method, plus steel/aluminium purchasing and labour-value-content requirements that this worksheet only flags. A build reaching 70% RVC is short by 5 points and does not qualify. Enter the actual rate from your destination tariff schedule for a precise duty figure, since chapter medians are worldwide, not country-specific. → test your build in the worksheet above.
Preferential origin determines whether goods qualify for the reduced — usually zero — tariff that a free-trade agreement grants. It exists only between FTA partners and must be proven against the agreement's product-specific rules. Non-preferential origin is the general 'made in' attribution used for trade statistics, labelling, anti-dumping and embargoes. A product can keep Chinese non-preferential origin and still acquire, say, Vietnamese preferential origin for RCEP purposes after substantial transformation in Vietnam. This checker evaluates preferential origin only, across six agreements: USMCA, EU-UK TCA, EU-Japan EPA, EU-Korea FTA, CPTPP and RCEP.
All three are change-of-tariff-classification tests: every non-originating input must end up in a different part of the HS nomenclature than the finished product. CTSH requires the change at the 6-digit sub-heading level (the easiest to meet), CTH at the 4-digit heading level, and CC at the 2-digit chapter level (the hardest). Example: circuit boards imported under heading 85.34 that leave the factory inside a finished phone under 85.17 satisfy both CTH and CTSH, because the heading changed. The worksheet checks whether the path you claim is on the matched agreement's accepted list for your HS chapter.
RVC measures the share of the product's value added inside the FTA region — but the formula differs by agreement. USMCA uses transaction-value or net-cost methods; EU agreements usually cap the maximum value of non-originating materials (MaxNOM) against the ex-works price; CPTPP accepts build-down (45%) or build-up (35%). Thresholds in this dataset range from 40% (RCEP) up to 75% net cost (USMCA passenger vehicles). Use the method the agreement's annex names and keep the costing worksheet: an RVC claim is only as defensible as its bill-of-materials math.
It depends on the agreement the worksheet matches. USMCA: a certification of origin containing the Annex 5-A data elements — no prescribed form. EU-UK TCA and EU-Japan EPA: a statement on origin on a commercial document, or importer's knowledge. EU-Korea: an origin declaration on the invoice — by any exporter up to EUR 6,000, or by an approved exporter above that; EUR.1 movement certificates are not accepted under this agreement. CPTPP: self-certification by the exporter, producer or importer. RCEP: a Form RCEP certificate of origin issued by a competent authority, or an approved-exporter declaration. The verdict block prints the exact document for your match.
Only to confirm that no preferential route exists: neither pair shares a free-trade agreement on the supported list, so the verdict is 'No FTA available — MFN applies' and estimated duty savings are zero. China does participate in RCEP, however, so China → Japan, China → South Korea or China → Australia flows can qualify for RCEP preference — most industrial chapters in this dataset accept a tariff-shift or 40% RVC.
The importer normally repays the duty difference plus interest, and penalties can follow if the claim was negligent. Verification can arrive years after entry — USMCA requires records supporting the certification to be kept for five years. The worksheet's audit-risk tier reflects how evidence-heavy each path is: tariff-shift claims (CTSH/CTH/CC) are mostly documentary, RVC claims stand or fall with the costing method, and process rules such as yarn-forward are the most fact-intensive to defend.
Because most agreements in this dataset govern those chapters with process rules instead of value rules: USMCA and CPTPP require yarn-forward (the yarn must be spun inside the region), and the EU agreements require double transformation (manufacture from yarn). Claiming RVC for a chapter 50–63 product under those agreements returns 'does not qualify' regardless of the percentage achieved. RCEP is the liberal outlier — CTH or 40% RVC with no yarn-forward — which is one reason apparel sourcing strategies treat RCEP differently. With textile MFN medians around 12%, the rule path changes real money.
Results are orientative. They do not constitute customs, tax, or legal advice. The chapter-bucket PSRs are calibrated for the most commonly traded categories; the FTA's official Annex remains authoritative. Consult a licensed customs broker before claiming preferential origin on a real entry.
Adjacent checks in the same cross-border cost workflow: