USMCA certification of origin
A USMCA certification of origin is the statement that goods qualify as originating under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which lets the importer claim preferential, usually duty-free, treatment. It has no official form but must contain nine minimum data elements.
USMCA (T-MEC in Mexico, CUSMA in Canada) replaced NAFTA on July 1, 2020, and with it the old NAFTA certificate of origin form. A certification of origin can now be completed by the importer, the exporter or the producer, on an invoice or any other document, as long as it includes the nine minimum data elements set by the agreement, such as the certifier, exporter, producer and importer, a description and tariff classification of the goods, the origin criterion, and a blanket period if it covers repeat shipments for up to 12 months.
The certification is a legal claim. The party making it must be able to support it with records if customs verifies origin later.
What this means when you move freight
Duty-free treatment is not automatic because goods cross from Mexico or Canada; it depends on the goods meeting the rules of origin and on the importer claiming it with a valid certification. For brokers, the practical step is to make sure the certification travels with the commercial invoice to the importer's customs broker. A missing certification usually means duty is paid at entry and recovered later, if at all.
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