The company plans to engage in transshipment trade and wants to understand whether it's necessary to change the certificate of origin and the impact of not doing so. The best answer states that whether to change the certificate of origin depends on the situation. If the destination country has strict requirements on the country of origin and products from the original country face trade barriers, changing the certificate of origin is very necessary. If the requirements are lenient and there are no trade restrictions, it may not be necessary, otherwise customs clearance may be obstructed.
Does transshipment trade actually constitute origin washing?
Resolved
I've been researching trade-related knowledge recently and am a bit confused about the concepts of transshipment trade and origin washing. I know that transshipment trade is the trade of goods between the country of production and the country of consumption through a third country, but I've heard that some people use transshipment trade to wash origin and evade trade restrictions. So I'd like to ask, does transshipment trade itself constitute an act of origin washing? How can we determine if transshipment trade involves origin washing?
Trade Expert Insights Answers
Transshipment trade itself is not equivalent to origin washing. Transshipment trade is a normal trade method aimed at facilitating the circulation of goods between the country of production and the country of consumption by leveraging the advantages of a third country's geographical location, trade policies, etc.
Origin washing, on the other hand, is an illegal act that refers to the deliberate concealment of the true country of origin of goods, using improper means to label the goods as produced in another country in order to evade trade barriers, obtain illicit benefits, and so on.
The key to determining whether transshipment trade involves origin washing lies in whether the operation is compliant. If the country of origin of the goods is declared truthfully, and relevant trade rules and procedures are followed, then it is normal transshipment trade. If the true origin is concealed through fraudulent documents, deliberate alteration of origin information, etc., then it is origin washing. Enterprises should strictly comply with regulations to avoid falling into the risk of origin washing.
Simply put, if transshipment trade is conducted normally, it is not origin washing. If it is intended to change the true origin information of the goods, then it is origin washing.
Transshipment trade has legal procedures. If you follow these procedures and truthfully declare the origin, it does not constitute origin washing. If the operation is illegal, then there is suspicion of origin washing.
Origin washing is an illicit act, while transshipment trade itself is a legitimate form of trade. Transshipment trade should not be equated with origin washing just because some people use it to wash origin.
To determine whether transshipment trade is origin washing, we need to see if there is any falsification of origin information. Normal declaration is fine; fraud constitutes origin washing.
Transshipment trade and origin washing cannot be equated. As long as transshipment trade adheres to international trade principles, it does not constitute an act of origin washing.
Normal transshipment trade facilitates trade, while origin washing is an illegal operation. Therefore, transshipment trade itself is not origin washing.
If transshipment trade is conducted compliantly and clearly indicates the true origin of the goods, it is not origin washing. Only illegal operations will turn it into origin washing.
The key to distinguishing the two lies in whether the business is conducted with integrity. If transshipment trade is conducted with integrity and the origin is not concealed, it does not constitute origin washing.
Legitimately conducted transshipment trade does not involve origin washing. It only becomes an act of origin washing when unscrupulous individuals use it to deliberately distort origin information.