The article reviews what is the definition of the ‘origin of goods’ under EU law, which includes both non-preferential and preferential origin. Rules on the ‘origin of goods’ were made to implement trade measures, in particular when goods were manufactured with components from several countries – not to protect consumers. The article then distinguishes the ‘origin of goods’ from other related notions that are often confused with the ‘origin of goods’, namely provenance, protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI), non-agricultural geographical indication, and commercial origin. The author explains that unlike the ‘origin of goods’, most of these notions are defined in relation to consumer protection.
Global Trade and Customs Journal