WTO Works to Harmonize Non-Preferential Rules of Origin, Aiming to Prevent Trade Barriers Under Uruguay Agreement

The WTO Agreement on Rules of Origin, part of the Uruguay Agreement, aims to harmonize non-preferential rules of origin to prevent them from becoming trade barriers. It establishes a work program for harmonizing these rules post-WTO establishment, in collaboration with the World Customs Organization. Members are committed to negotiating common rules for non-preferential trade, but these negotiations are ongoing, and no unified rules have been established yet.