This report assesses how rules of origin policy have affected trade barriers resulting in discrimination. It points out that the level of the rules of origin would change the formation of investment and procurement of foreign companies and that it has influenced the distribution of resources within the area substantially.
By comparing these developed countries' rules of origin policy, this study suggests some implications for Korean's rules of origin.

Sections I outlines the structure, class, international standard and economic effect of rules of origin. Section II presents the non-preferential and preferential rules of origin in the United States. Section III presents the general rules of origin and its preferential rules of origin in the EC, exploring some of the development and business implications of trade facilitation in Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) countries. Section IV presents the general rules of origin and Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) applied preferential rules of origin in Japan.
Executive summary and policy implications are provided in Section V.