The World Customs Organization (WCO) recently conducted a workshop on rules of origin for ASEAN member-countries in Bangkok, Thailand.
The workshop, carried out in cooperation with the ASEAN Secretariat and the Thai Customs Department, was designed to support ASEAN member Customs administrations increase their institutional capacity to carry out origin work, specifically assisting them to update the Product Specific Rules (PSRs) to the latest edition of the Harmonized System using the WCO Guide for the Technical Update of Preferential Rules of Origin.
Twenty-six Customs officers dealing with origin and/or HS classification from ASEAN member-countries, as well as representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat and the WCO, participated in the workshop, facilitated by two origin and classification experts from the WCO Secretariat.
During the workshop, the WCO Guide for the Technical Update of Preferential Rules of Origin was explained. There were also presentations on the HS 2017 Amendment and its impact and implementation of HS 2017 in ASEAN member-countries. Participants of two administrations shared their experiences with the updating of preferential rules of origin.
All participants worked on a series of basic and practical exercises in the technical update of rules of origin of the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement PSRs. Furthermore, they worked in groups and in the final session the complete updated table was reviewed. – WCO
