Documenting Origin
The U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement (U.S.-Morocco FTA) entered into force on January 1, 2006.
Documentation Requirements
The importer, not the exporter, is required to make a claim of preferential tariff treatment under the U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement (U.S.-Morocco FTA) on the basis that the good is U.S. or Moroccan originating. However, both the importer and the exporter have obligations to generate supporting documentation to back-up any claims of preferential treatment under the U.S.-Morocco FTA.
The text of the Agreements states the following:
Each Party shall provide that whenever an importer makes a claim for preferential tariff treatment for a good, the importer:
1. shall be deemed to have certified that the good qualifies for preferential tariff treatment; and
2. shall submit to the customs authority of the importing Party, on request, a signed declaration setting forth all pertinent information concerning the growth, production, or manufacture of the good. Each Party may require that the declaration contain at least the following details:
i. a description of the good, quantity, numbers, and invoice numbers and bills of lading;
ii. a description of the operations performed in the growth, production, or manufacture of the good in the territory of one or both of the Parties and, where applicable, identification of the direct costs of processing operations;
iii. a description of any materials used in the growth, production, or manufacture of the good that are wholly the growth, product, or manufacture of one or both of the Parties, and a statement as to the value of such materials;
iv. a description of the operations performed on, and a statement as to the origin and value of, any materials used in the good that are claimed to have been sufficiently processed in the territory of one or both of the Parties so as to be materials produced in the territory of one or both of the Parties, or are claimed to have undergone an applicable change in tariff classification specified in Annex 4-A or Annex 5-A; and
v. a description of the origin and value of any foreign materials used in the good that are not claimed to have been substantially transformed in the territory of one or both of the Parties, or are not claimed to have undergone an applicable change in tariff classification specified in Annex 4-A or Annex 5-A.
The importing Party should request a declaration only when that Party has reason to question the accuracy of a deemed certification referred to in subparagraph (a), when that Party's risk assessment procedures indicate that verification of an entry is appropriate, or when the Party conducts a random verification. The importer shall retain the information necessary to prepare the declaration for five years from the date of importation of the good.
For shipments to Morocco, exporters are required to provide, in original form, a commercial invoice, an airway bill, and a packing list. Exporters should be aware that commercial invoices for all shipments from the United States must bear a notarized affidavit: I, (name, title, and name of company), hereby swear that the prices stated in this invoice are the current export market prices for the merchandise described, that the products being shipped are of US origin, and that they have been manufactured in the United States. I accept full responsibility for any inaccuracies therein.
If the products being shipped contain any foreign components, the country of origin and percentage of foreign content in the goods must be indicated on the invoice.