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If you’ve ever spent any time on the Shipping Solutions website, you’ve probably noticed that we make a couple dozen export form templates free to download as PDFs. Among all those different export documents, the NAFTA Certificate of Origin (COO) form is by far the most common form people download.
When people download a free form, I usually send a follow-up email thanking them for visiting our website and asking if they have any questions about the form they downloaded. For the NAFTA COO downloads, I typically get one or two email replies every day asking what to enter in column #7, Preference Criterion, and column #9, Net Cost, on the form.
At this point I write back and advise them to stop filling out the form and instead reasses whether they can and should be providing the NAFTA Certificate.
NAFTA Is Optional
The North American Free Trade Agreement is voluntary—you do not have to participate.
Many of the people I communicate with about the NAFTA COO are filling out the form because a customer requested it. They view it as another export document that they need to fill out and include with their export shipments.
That is not true. By completing and signing the NAFTA Certificate, you are certifying that your goods qualify for duty-free treatment under very specific NAFTA Rules of Origin, and, if audited, you can prove it. Signing the NAFTA Certificate of Origin without knowing your products actually qualify is like signing your IRS tax return after entering random numbers: You are committing fraud.
Of course, there are real potential benefits from participating in NAFTA. Taking the time to properly classify your goods and determine the appropriate rule of origin could save your Canadian and Mexican customers some money by eliminating any duty they have to pay. That, in turn, makes your products more competitive in those markets.
You May Not Need to Claim NAFTA Preference
Even without NAFTA, some products shipped to Canada or Mexico may already be duty free. Or, if there is a duty imposed on your goods, it may be low enough that it doesn’t justify the time and cost of properly maintaining a full-fledge NAFTA program within your company.
Think of it this way: I really like the idea of having a garden. I could grow my own vegetables, which would save me money while I also enjoyed the outdoors and got some physical activity. In reality, however, the money I’d save on produce doesn’t outweight the time I’d have to spend trying to overcome my heavy clay soil, pesky neighborhood rabbits, and my busy schedule. Sometimes it’s just not worth it. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.
Do Your Products Qualify Under NAFTA?
Once you’ve made the determination that you want to take advantage of the benefits of NAFTA, you need to make sure you do it right. And if you are asking me for advice about what to enter in column #7 or what dollar amount to enter in column #9, you are not doing it right!
There are a lot of resources available for learning about NAFTA, the rules of origin, and how to properly complete the Certificate of Origin form. An investment in training your staff about properly utilizing NAFTA might not only save your customers money when they buy your products, it will save you and your company the time and expense of defending fraudulent claims.
Here are just some of the options available for learning more about NAFTA:
Seminars
NAFTA Rules of Origin Seminar
Tariff Classification: Using the Harmonized Tariff Schedule Seminar
Books
NAFTA: A Practical Guide to Regulation, Documentation and Procedures
NAFTA Documentation and Procedures
Articles
NAFTA Rules of Origin - A Seven-Part Series
Completing the NAFTA Certificate of Origin - A Two-Part Series
Do You HAFTA Use NAFTA?
The NAFTA Producer Solicitation - A Two-Part Series
White Paper
When and How to Complete a NAFTA Certificate of Origin
Software
Shipping Solutions export software makes it easy to complete a NAFTA Certificate of Origin and more than two dozen other standard export forms (as long as you know what goes in columns #7 and #9!)
| Product Model | Inside Diameter | Outside Diameter | Thickness |
| NUKRT180X/3AS NTN | 64 | 180 | 76 |
| NUKRT170X/3AS NTN | 60 | 170 | 70 |