Friends of NG-RoO
Rules of origin that reward cleaner production
New-Generation Rules of Origin, also called Green Rules of Origin, give producers an additional, voluntary route to preferential tariff treatment when they can verify lower-carbon production. The pathway works inside existing trade agreements and makes them more liberal, not more complicated.
- faster border clearance through a green lane or trusted-trader channel
- reduced or waived import VAT or GST
- one certification that also serves carbon border measures such as CBAM
How it works
- 1
A shipment falls just short
A good narrowly misses the standard origin test, for example a 40 per cent qualifying value content threshold, and would otherwise pay the full tariff.
- 2
A processing step is verified
The producer shows, through an agreed measurement, reporting and verification method, that processing carried out in the exporting country falls below a carbon-intensity benchmark.
- 3
A relaxed threshold applies
The good qualifies under an eased rule and receives the preference. The conventional route stays fully intact for everyone else.
Design principles
Addition, not complication
No new conditions are layered on top of existing rules.
Voluntary
Firms opt in. Nothing changes for those that do not.
Liberalising
More goods qualify for preferences, so trade expands.
Same territorial logic
The certified step must happen in the country claiming origin.
Where it stands
TradeWorthy and Astove Conseil first described the concept. It is not yet part of any preferential trade arrangement.
- Being modelled as a proof of concept. We are modelling its impacts on an existing bilateral and regional trade agreement.
- Presented in Geneva. An invitation-only curated conversation at the WTO Public Forum on 17 September 2026 put the design to trade lawyers, officials, researchers and industry.
- Benchmark in development. An emissions-intensity benchmark and verification method are being designed, starting with metals.
Friends of NG-RoO
An invited group of officials, researchers, practitioners and industry people who are helping to test and improve the concept.
Members have access to a reading room with the working documents, short updates as new material is released, and a discussion board for questions, builds and critiques.