Jointly implemented by the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the RTA Exchange works in the interest of the sharing of ideas, experiences to date and best practices to harvest innovation from RTAs and leverage lessons learned towards progress at the multilateral level. This paper reviews reciprocal and unilateral preferential rules of origin, including the possibility of introducing expanded cumulation flexibilities to show why they are seemingly resistant to harmonisation and simplification efforts. It explains, from a practitioner’s perspective, several of the main administrative and structural challenges faced by large and small producers, and in particular small and medium-sized enterprises, in both developing and developed economies. It then proposes some policy options and practical solutions to address these challenges.
Written by Brian Staples