WTO negotiations - Non-preferential rules of origin

After being consulted by the European Commission on the WTO negotiations on the harmonisation of the non-preferential rules of origin, Orgalime expressed in a position that it is following the discussions in the WTO Committee on Rules of Origin with great concern and that it opposes the Chairman's proposals, which might lead to an undifferentiated application of only one rule of origin (CTH or VAR).

Orgalime believes that keeping company costs and administrative burdens low should be the leading principle in the respective WTO negotiations.  Engineering companies currently operate in an environment where the last major change to the product determines its origin. T oday, these companies do not need to cope with burdensome bureaucracy and costs by calculating percentages or investigating whether a tariff heading changing occurred.

Orgalime therefore asked the European Commission to apply a strategy, which allows a flexible approach for European engineering companies and does not put their competitiveness unnecessarily at risk.