The latest trends in certification of origin

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In 2020, the WCO Secretariat has published the ‘Comparative Study on certification of origin’, the previous version of which was issued in 2014, that considers new trends for both of non-preferential and preferential origin.

Regardingnon-preferential rules of origin, use or acceptance of electronic certificates of origin (e-CO) is increasing. The format of e-Cos is used mostly in China, the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, the Republic of Korea and Spain. Among these, China and the Republic of Korea prefer the certificate only in this format. e-COs can effectively reduce the risk of having certificates forged. In the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic, in addition, the dematerialization of certificate of origin makes it possible to limit the physical interaction between the exporter and the issuing authority, and between the importer and customs.

Regarding preferential rules of origin, the study compares the certification provisions found in 209 free trade agreements (FTAs), as against 149 in 2014.

As was the study in 2014, more than half of the FTAs include some form of self-certification of origin that are fully exporter-based or importer-based certification system.The exporter based certification system is utilized mainly in FTAs involving one or more European countries, while the fully exporterbased certification system and the importer-based certification system are used typically in FTAs involving American countries. Intra-African and intra-Asian agreements seem to favour the certification of origin by competent authorities.

Meanwhile, one of the new findings of the 2020 study is that recently-concluded agreements appear to prefer the self-certification of origin, particularly the fully exporter-based certification system and the importer-based certification system that is less - or no - the involvement of the competent authority. More than half of the FTAs provide several different certification procedures which allow traders to choose the appropriate option. It leads to increased user-friendliness and trade facilitation in each FTA.

The study also highlights the impact that blockchain based information systems could have on the self-certification process. Utilised to issue and exchange electronic certificates, it provesthe certificate is authentic since it has been delivered by the competent authority – and has not been tampered with.Furthermore, if it becomes more widely implemented by parties to a transaction to exchange data from the goods are produced or harvested through all subsequent stages of the process of treatment until to the final consumer, certification of origin could rely on block-chain data to be determined directly at the border, without the need for a certifying competent authority. This could be tremendous progress towards not only facilitation of legitimate trade but also increased compliance of businesses.