Country of Origin (v2)
Objective and outcome
The Country of Origin lens determines where each product originates by running the rules of origin over your value chain, rather than recording what a vendor declared and stopping there. It depends on a confirmed HS code and its result feeds Section 232, free trade agreement qualification, and Duties.
The outcome is a determined origin for every product with the rule and the test that produced it shown, and any CBP ruling that governed it, so the determination is defensible in an audit rather than taken on faith. Where your declared origin and the determination disagree, you see both.
Before you start
- A confirmed HS code on the product. Classification comes first, since the product-specific rule of origin is selected by the code. See HS Classification (v2).
- Your value chain, meaning what each product is made of and who supplies it. This is what the determination runs over.
Required data
| Tier | What to provide | What you get back |
|---|---|---|
| Good | Your finished goods, a bill of materials listing each input by description, and your supplier links. | Altana works the determination for you. It classifies inputs that arrive without a code, proposes each input's origin from your value chain, then applies the rule hierarchy. |
| Better | Add the input HS codes you already hold. | The tariff-shift analysis runs and returns origin wherever the codes resolve it. Altana tells you when an input origin or an input cost is still needed, and why. |
| Best | Add input costs and origins for every input, and the operations performed at each facility, such as assembly and minor processing like painting, cleaning, or washing. | The determination runs end to end, including the de minimis allowance where cost resolves it, producing an audit-ready origin with the rule and test shown. |
Filling the gaps. Input HS codes you do not have are classified for you by the HS Classification lens. A product's manufacturing origin is derived from your supplier links. An input's origin is proposed by walking your value chain to its likely supplier and country, or requested from the supplier. An input is only raised with you when its origin is both unknown and would change the result, and where a detail is still needed to reach a determination, Altana asks you for it directly. See Data Requirements.
Running the analysis
The origin determination runs when you trigger it. Open the lens and use the run control to start it. When the run finishes, each product carries a suggested origin with the reasoning behind it.
Run it again after a classification changes, after you add value chain data, or after supplier responses come back, since any of those can change the determination.
The flow
- Confirm HS codes first. The rule of origin is selected by the code, so classification has to be settled before origin means anything.
- Run the analysis.
- Read the status bar for how many products are complete, how many have a suggestion, and how many need attention.
- Work the suggestions. Open a product to see the suggested origin, the rule that produced it, and the reasoning, then accept it.
- Resolve what needs attention. Answer the questions Altana raises about the specific input that would settle the determination, request the data from your supplier, or enter your own origin as an override.
- Compare against what you declared. Where the determination disagrees with the origin on file, review the evidence before you decide which stands.
Key features
How the determination is reached
Altana works the standard rules-of-origin hierarchy in order and stops at the first test that resolves:
- Wholly obtained or exclusively originating. A product produced entirely in, or entirely from the materials of, one country originates there.
- Tariff shift, meaning substantial transformation. Whether the non-originating materials undergo the change in tariff classification the product-specific rule requires.
- De minimis. The small-content allowance, where input costs are available to evaluate it.
- Essential character. Where tariff shift does not resolve it, origin is taken from the material that gives the product its essential character, meaning the most functionally important one, or the highest-value one where materials are otherwise comparable.
Each determination shows the rule that was applied and the confidence behind it, so you can see not just the answer but which test produced it.
CROSS ruling checks
The rule hierarchy is not the whole picture. CBP has issued rulings that govern how origin is determined for particular goods, and where one applies it takes precedence over the general analysis.
So alongside the rule hierarchy, Altana runs a CROSS ruling check. It evaluates, per HS code, whether there is specific ruling logic that has to be applied to that product, and where there is, the determination follows the ruling rather than the general rule. The ruling is shown as part of the reasoning, so the determination is grounded in CBP's own published decisions rather than in our interpretation of the rule alone.
Declared against determined
The lens shows the origin you have on file next to the origin Altana determined, and whether the two agree. A disagreement is surfaced rather than silently overwritten, because it is the case most worth your time: the determination is grounded in the rule and the value chain, while the declared value came from a supplier working from the same invoice you have.
The value chain behind the determination
Origin work depends on the value chain, so the product side sheet includes a value chain view showing the inputs, their suppliers, and where substantial transformation takes place, alongside any exposures it surfaces. This view is in active development.
The side sheet and the guide box
The guide box carries the suggested country of origin, the reasoning behind it, and the option to accept or override. Where there is not enough information to reach a determination, it surfaces the specific questions that would close the gap, and you can answer them directly or open a chat with Altana AI to work through it. See Trade Agent.
Requesting information from suppliers
When a product is missing the value chain or input data the determination needs, you can request it from a direct supplier from within the product rather than chasing it offline. Their response flows back into the lens, and the determination re-runs against it.
Status reference
| Status | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Complete | An origin is on file with the rule and reasoning behind it. | Nothing. |
| Suggestion available | Altana has reached a high-confidence determination waiting for you. | Open the product to see the rule and reasoning, then accept, or accept from the table if you are confident. |
| Needs attention | A person has to be in the loop. Confidence is low, or an input detail is missing and would change the result. | Answer the questions in the guide box, request the data from your supplier, or enter your own origin. |
FAQ
What does the lens need to run? A confirmed HS code and your value chain. It works from a bill of materials by description, and classifies inputs that arrive without codes.
What happens if my value chain is incomplete? The determination still runs over what is there. An input is only raised with you when its origin is unknown and would change the answer, so you are not asked to chase data that would not move the result.
Which rules of origin are applied? Non-preferential rules for the workspace's import destination. Preference qualification under a trade agreement is a separate lens.
How is a determination defensible in an audit? Every determination shows the rule and the test that produced it, along with any CBP ruling that governed it, so the reasoning is on the record rather than reconstructed later. Altana checks per HS code whether specific ruling logic applies and follows it where it does.
Why does the determination disagree with the origin my supplier declared? Because it is calculated from the rule and your value chain rather than taken from a declaration. Open the product to see the rule and the inputs that drove it, then decide which stands.
Can I override a determination? Yes, on any product, with your value recorded as the value of record.
Do I need to run this from the Country of Origin lens? No. Origin suggestions also surface in Trade Readiness alongside a product's other attributes. Use this lens when origin is the work you are focused on.