Rules of Origin (ROO)
The EU has established rules of origin (ROO) to provide within the context of its common external commercial policy a key to any differential treatment applied to imports from non-member countries. For example, the origin of goods is a necessary concept to apply preferential tariff treatment, to charge antidumping duties, or to enforce quantitative quotas.
The question of origin is relevant for extra-community trade, at importation as well as at exportation, but not for intra-EU trade that is subject to specific rules (free circulation). In intra-EU trade, the question of origin can be pertinent only in the case where measures of commercial policy (surveillance or protective measures) are decided by the EU regarding certain goods originating in the third countries and put into free circulation in one of the member states.