What is a Certificate of Origin?
A Certificate of Origin (CO) is an official document that certifies the country in which a commercial product was manufactured or produced. It is used by customs authorities worldwide to: determine applicable import duties (especially under Free Trade Agreements), enforce trade sanctions or embargoes, ensure compliance with country-of-origin labeling requirements, and support anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations. The CO must accurately reflect the actual country where the goods underwent substantial transformation — not merely where they were packaged or labeled.