Rules of origin are of considerable practical importance for the import and export of goods and services. In this context, the originating status serves to delimit the scope of application of targeted foreign trade policy measures, such as anti-dumping duties, tariff preferences and anti-subsidy measures.

This monograph is the first publication to date to provide a scholarly analysis and detailed treatment of the subject of “rules of origin” in its legal, economic, political and historical dimensions. It includes the main provisions of European law on the determination of the origin of goods, the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice on origin issues and the main EU administrative practice on this subject, it also takes into account the WTO Agreement and the related EC legal implementing acts of January 1, 1995. The publication is indispensable for all those who deal with issues of foreign trade law.