Free Trade Agreements (v2)

Objective and outcome

The Free Trade Agreements lens determines whether each product qualifies for preferential treatment under the trade agreements that cover its trade lane. It reads a product's HS code and country of origin, works out which agreements could apply, and then qualifies the product against the agreement's rules of origin with the reasoning and sources on the record.

The outcome is a qualification decision for every product on a covered lane, showing the agreement, the preference criterion, and the pathway that qualified it, so a preference claim is defensible rather than assumed. Where the agreement on file does not fit the product's origin, the lens tells you.

Before you start

• A workspace importing into the United States, Canada, Mexico, or a European Union member state. The lens is available for those destinations.
• A country of origin on the product. Agreement coverage depends on the trade lane, so origin comes first. Products without one show as missing a prerequisite. See Country of Origin (v2).
• A confirmed HS code. The product-specific rule of origin is selected by the code. See HS Classification (v2).

Agreements covered

European Union agreements

For imports into any of the 27 European Union member states, the lens covers 137 exporting countries across eight families of EU agreements. Each product is matched to the EU agreement that applies to its country of origin, then checked against that agreement's rule for its product.

More than half of EU product rules can be answered automatically. The rest, including products where more than one rule could apply and the rules disagree, are routed to review rather than guessed at. Imports into the United Kingdom are not yet covered.

For each US agreement, the product-specific rules of origin are taken from the agreement's General Note in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States. Under the agreements with Bahrain, Oman, and Morocco, a product can qualify either through its tariff shift rule or by meeting a 35 percent value test, and the lens checks both.

A product whose trade lane is not covered by any of these agreements is marked Not Relevant and sorted to the bottom of the lens, so it stays out of your way.

Required data

Prices for European Union imports. Most EU value rules are measured against the product's ex-works price, and some, such as the EU-Japan agreement, also allow the FOB price. These come from the same price fields Country of Origin uses, so you provide them once. Where a rule needs a price you have not provided, Altana names the price it needs rather than estimating it.

Filling the gaps. Where a determination depends on a figure Altana does not have, such as the origin of a component, it asks you for that specific figure rather than estimating it. If a US product has no transaction value or net cost on file, the value calculation uses the total value of its materials in its place, and Altana may ask you for the actual figure. A determination that depends on a value test without real cost data stays below high confidence, so adding the transaction value or net cost is the way to raise it. See Data Requirements.

Running the analysis

When you open the lens, Altana checks each product's trade lane and sets up a record for every agreement that could apply. That step identifies coverage. It does not qualify anything yet.

To qualify products, select them and choose Determine with agent. You can run up to 1,000 products at a time. You can also determine a single product from its side sheet. Run it again after an origin changes, after you add bill of materials or cost data, or after you answer Altana's questions.

The flow

1. Settle origin first. Products without a country of origin cannot be evaluated, so clear those in Country of Origin.
2. Read the status bar for how many products are complete, ready to accept, need attention, or are missing a prerequisite.
3. Start with what needs attention. This includes any product where the agreement on file does not fit its origin.
4. Determine with agent on the products that have not been evaluated yet.
5. Answer the questions Altana raises, usually a value or a component origin.
6. Accept the confident determinations, individually or in bulk, and reject the ones you disagree with.

Key features

The table and Findings

The lens has one row per product. It shows the product, its Findings, the agreement on file, the proposed agreements, the confidence of the proposal, and the country of origin. Where more than one agreement applies, the agreement cell shows the first one and a count, such as USMCA + 1.

Findings tells you where each product stands without opening it: Needs attention, Proposed with the agreement, Analyzing while the agent works, Awaiting input when Altana has asked you a question, Missing COO, Ready with the agreement, Not Relevant, or Not determined when no determination has been run yet.

How a determination is reached

Altana reads the product's HS code and origin, its bill of materials and the origin of each input, relevant CBP rulings, and the agreement's rule text. It then tests the product against the pathways the agreement allows:

• Wholly obtained or exclusively originating materials.
• Tariff shift, where the non-originating inputs undergo the change in tariff classification the product-specific rule requires.
• Regional value content, by the transaction value or the net cost method, where the rule calls for it.
• De minimis, where the small-content allowance resolves it.

Value calculations run in a calculator rather than being estimated. Where a cost figure is missing, Altana asks you for it, and each determination lists the sources it used.

The determination in the side sheet

Opening a product takes you to its Free Trade Agreements section in the product side sheet. It lists the declarations on file, where you can add, edit, or remove an FTA declaration, and a guide box for each agreement that could apply.

The guide box shows the proposed qualification, the preference criterion, the qualifying pathway, the confidence, and the full analysis. From there you can Determine a product, Accept determination, Reject it with a reason, Re-assess after you change an input, or answer the questions Altana has raised. See Trade Agent for how the guide box works.

Origin consistency checks

A preference claim only holds if the product's origin supports it. When a product is marked as qualifying under an agreement that does not cover its country of origin, the lens flags it as Needs Attention with the reason FTA Inconsistent with Country of Origin. This is the one free trade agreement condition that also holds back the product's overall Trade Readiness.

Bulk actions

Select products to act on them together: Accept determinations, Ignore determinations, Determine with agent, or Archive records.

Status reference

International coverage

The lens is available for workspaces importing into the United States, Canada, Mexico, or a European Union member state. For Canadian and Mexican imports, USMCA is the agreement that applies. For US imports, the lens covers USMCA, CAFTA-DR, KORUS, and the US bilateral agreements. For European Union imports, it covers 137 exporting countries across eight EU agreement families, in limited release. Imports into the United Kingdom and other destinations are not yet covered.

For European Union imports, Altana checks the product against the agreement's rule of origin. Conditions that apply to the claim rather than the product, such as direct transport, proof of origin, and the no-drawback rule, are not assessed and remain yours to confirm. See International Coverage for coverage across every lens.

FAQ

Which agreements are supported? USMCA, CAFTA-DR, KORUS, and the US bilateral agreements with Australia, Bahrain, Chile, Colombia, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, Panama, Peru, and Singapore. AGOA and the Caribbean Basin Initiative are not covered.

Why is the lens not showing in my workspace? It is available for workspaces importing into the United States, Canada, Mexico, or, in limited release, a European Union member state. For Canada and Mexico, USMCA is the only agreement that applies.

Why did a European Union determination come back for review? Not every EU product rule can be evaluated automatically, and where more than one rule could govern a product and they disagree, Altana routes it to review rather than choosing one. Open the product to see the rule text and the reason.

Why does a product say Missing COO? Agreement coverage depends on the origin, so the lens cannot evaluate a product until its country of origin is set.

Does opening the lens qualify my products? No. Opening the lens identifies which agreements could apply. Qualification runs when you choose Determine with agent.

What happens when I accept a determination? The qualification decision, qualifies or does not qualify, is saved to the product's record for that agreement.

Can I override a determination? Yes. Reject it with a reason, or add or edit the FTA declaration on the product yourself.

How does this relate to the USMCA lens? This lens covers USMCA alongside the other supported agreements, with the Trade Agent doing the qualification work. The USMCA page covers the current USMCA lens.