This paper examines how preferential rules of origin that operate under Regional Trade Agreements (RTA) can be utilized to help developing countries. Under the standard territoriality principle, products imported from countries outside of a RTA territory will be treated as non-originating. A...

Restrictive preferential rules of origin cause producers in RTAs to source intermediate materials from RTA partners instead of non-parties in order to meet the rules of origin requirements. For RTAs concluded under Article XXIV, restrictive preferential rules of origin open doors to selective...

To become operational, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) must harmonize Rules of Origin (ROO) across Africa's Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) along two dimensions: regime-wide rules and product-specific rules. This paper describes and evaluates these ROO across the major...