Title：Rules of Origin for Vehicles in RTAs: Current Status, Impacts and Recommendations

Authors：Minyou Yu, Lingwei Tang

Abstract：As an important industry in the global economy, the strict and diverse regional rules of origin for vehicles impede the liberalization of vehicle trade. Due to differences in tariff preferences between regional agreements, countries’ positions in the industrial chain and the interests of key contracting parties of the agreements, the rules of origin for vehicles show diversification, specifically reflected in the differences in regional value contents of complete vehicles and parts, the calculation methods of the regional value content, the constituent elements, and the contractual terms. These factors have led to several adverse effects as follows: firstly, they have exacerbated the fragmentation of international law and eroded the multilateral trading system; secondly, they disrupt global value chains and diminish consumer welfare; thirdly, they increase costs of production and compliance for enterprises, fading their enthusiasm for utilizing regional agreements. China can effectively cope with the adverse effects above by four key strategies as follows: promoting the construction of multilateral rules, making good use of multilateral rule remedies, skillfully utilizing favorable contractual terms, and enhancing talent support.

Keywords：Rules of Origin, Vehicle, Regional Trade Agreements, World Trade Organization, Trade Protection