Rules of origin

CREATING finished leather from tanned leather, in its wet state, is not sufficiently important a manufacturing process to warrant the final product being legally considered a new good, made in the country where it was processed rather than where it was sourced, the chairman of a special World Trade Organisation committee has advised. It is trying to harmonise such rules of origin internationally; at present these regulations are national and can conflict, often making trading difficult, as they determine which tariffs, quotas and other import rules apply to particular consignments. The committee's recommendations must be agreed by the WTO General Council to take effect, with votes expected in November. Other proposals made by its chairman (and supported by Argentina, India, Canada, Japan, Mexico and the US), include that the tanning of leather is sufficiently important a process to say that a legally new product has been created. Another was that the creation of 'provisionally prepared' leather and turning re-tanned leather into a final product are not important enough to be 'origin conferring'. The committee described the finishing of leather as 'unfinished leather processed through dyeing, graining, stamping, sizing, polishing, waxing etc' into a final product. It is also drawing up WTO rules of origin for textiles and clothing accessories.