Recent U.S. trade measures concerning imports produced using forced labor have added another layer of complexity for ASEAN manufacturers and exporters. While the immediate impact is additional tariff exposure, the broader significance lies in the increasing scrutiny of how products are sourced, manufactured, valued and documented before entering the United States.
For ASEAN businesses, the practical question is therefore no longer simply what tariff applies. It is whether the company can substantiate the underlying facts upon which its U.S. customs treatment depends.
Country of Origin Matters More Than Ever
Companies with regional manufacturing operations should carefully review country-of-origin determinations, particularly where raw materials or components originate in one country and manufacturing or assembly occurs in another.
For U.S. non-preferential origin purposes, additional processing in another country does not automatically confer the origin of that country. Depending upon the applicable legal framework and product, the analysis may turn on whether the processing results in a substantial transformation into a new and different article of commerce. These determinations are highly fact-specific.
For further information, please visit DFDL.
