Changes In The U.S. Non-Preferential Origin Determination Rules – Implications For Companies Importing And Exporting Mexican Goods

On July 6, 2021, the U.S. Government published a notice of proposed rulemaking and request for comments on an amendment to the Code of Federal Regulations ("CFR") regarding the determination of non-preferential origin for imports from Mexico and Canada: Non-Preferential Origin Determinations for Merchandise Imported from Canada or Mexico for Implementation of the Agreement Between the United States of America, the United Mexican States, and Canada.

This article is intended to summarize and report on the implications of these changes for Mexican imports into the United States.

The Context: Non-Preferential and Preferential Origin Determinations

Determining the origin of a good is essential for several reasons, including setting tariffs, identifying free trade agreement-eligibility, establishing quotas, and public procurement, and as the Notice states, the United States has various ways to determine the origin of a good through rules of origin that are known as