U.S. Customs and Border Protection Form 3229 is the Certificate of Origin which declares the country where the goods were produced. The country of origin of a product can have significant implications for what tariff rate the goods are subject to. The subject to when imported into the United States. This is particularly true when the United States has negotiated a Free Trade Agreement with a particular country, which exempts certain products from that country from U.S. import duties.
On the surface the country of origin for a given product may seem like a relatively straightforward declaration to make, but in reality the nature of the modern, global supply chain can complicate things. With textiles in particular, classifying the country of origin can be very difficult, and even depends on the type of fabrics involved and the specific countries in question. Typically the country of origin questions are some of the hardest ones on the customs broker licensing exam. As a general rule, if you are importing a product with components produced in more than one country, you should consider hiring a licensed customs broker to help you fill out CBP Form 3229.
