The elaboration and application of rules of origin have become more problematic when faced with the realities of globalization, because raw materials or components may come from a number of countries, but Customs must determine the origin of the product for processing, including the tariff to be applied from the time the product enters its jurisdiction Traditionally, rules of origin have been considered a rather technical customs issue, with little bearing on trade and economic policy, but the evolution of international trade has shown that the determination of origin could affect a large number of matters covered by various WTO agreements. Actually, the rules of origin constitute a secondary instrument of trade policy important and they are used to determine the nationality of a product for the correct application of discriminatory trade policy measures. But the lack of unified and harmonized set of rules of origin provides countries with the opportunity and incentive to use these rules as a protectionist policy device that discriminates between countries. The manner of application of these rules in a large number of cases conveys the impression that these rules are increasingly being viewed as trade policy instruments per se, instead of as a device to support trade policy instruments It is accepted by all countries that harmonization of rules of origin would facilitate the flow of international trade, but such harmonization is a complex exercise because of divergences of national trade interests, covering the full spectrum of global trade, stretching from liberalization and market access, to protection. This thesis has no ambition to find a solution of this question, because the solutions depend on the privileged interest, but to supply some tracks of reflection.
