Country of origin

Jul 14

For the legal term from European law, see Country of origin principle.

“Swiss Made” label on a TAG Heuer chronograph

Country of origin is the country of manufacture, production, or growth where an article or product comes from. There are differing rules of origin under various national laws and international treaties.

Contents

1 Country of origin as a marketing strategy
- 1.1 Ambiguous country of origin labeling
2 Country of origin in international trade
3 Country of origin in movie and television production
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

Country of origin as a marketing strategy

From a marketing perspective, “country of origin” gives a way to differentiate the product from the competitors. It is believed that the country of origin has an impact on the willingness to buy a product, and studies have shown that consumers may tend to have a relative preference to products from their own country or may tend to have a relative preference for or aversion to certain products that originate from certain countries. The effect of country of origin is however debated as studies have shown that the origin of design (for instance Apple computers or Nike shoes) can be more important than the country of origin.

Ambiguous country of origin labeling

While many products made within the European Union carry the country of origin label or marking “Made in EU” or “Made in EC”, some non-EU manufacturers in Europe and some others outside the continent of Europe use ambiguous markings, such as “Made in Europe” (made anywhere else in Europe, but not in the EU or EC; this may constitute any country geographically close to Europe or the EU that also wishes to be in) or “Made for Europe” (made anywhere else in the world, but not in Europe or the European Union). These tactics appear to be intended for consumer deception, whereby a buyer not proficient in English may come to believe from looking at the label that the non-EU product he is interested in is made in the EU.

Country of origin in international trade

When shipping products from one country to another, the products may have to be marked with country of origin, and the country of origin will generally be required to be indicated in the export/import documents and governmental submissions. Country of origin will affect its admissibility, the rate of duty, its entitlement to special duty or trade preference programs, antidumping, and government procurement.

Today, many products are an outcome of a large number of parts and pieces that come from many different countries, and that may then be assembled together in a third country. In these cases, it’s hard to know exactly what is the country of origin, and different rules apply as to how to determine their “correct” country of origin. Generally, articles only change their country of origin if the work or material added to an article in the second country constitutes a substantial transformation, or, the article changes its name, tariff code, character or use (for instance from wheel to car). Value added in the second country may also be an issue.

Further information: Rules of origin

Country of origin in movie and television production

The International Federation of Film Archives defines the country of origin as the country of the principal offices of the production company or individual by whom the moving image work was made.

Sing and smmile exports