CJ-02Edition 1.0 · November 2026

US-Origin or Foreign-Made?

Origin for export control, not for customs

A step-by-step method for non-US companies to establish where an item and each of its layers come from — and what that origin means under the EAR and the ITAR.

A4 PDF · 23 pages · English · 4 templates · regulatory references checked October 2026

Buy the guide · €89Look inside

Prices excl. VAT · single user · revisions included for 12 months

Cover of US-Origin or Foreign-Made?

What this guide settles

  • US origin is sticky: unless excluded by §734.3(b), a US-origin item subject to the EAR remains subject wherever located
  • Customs origin answers a different question: substantial transformation is not the EAR test
  • Final assembly or testing abroad does not, by itself, create a foreign-made item
  • “Foreign-made” starts the scope analysis: de minimis, foreign direct product rules and ITAR nexus must still be checked

What you get

  • The guide: explanations, method, conditions and limits
  • Worked examples: eight typical situations, a commented real case and ten pitfalls
  • Tools printed in the guide: four templates and a readiness check
  • Sources with section references and their verification date
  • Revisions included for 12 months

Printed tools: T1 · Origin map · T2 · Origin decision worksheet · T3 · Origin and scope record · T4 · Review triggers · Readiness check

Contents

  1. Before you start: scope and limits
  2. Why origin comes first
  3. The rule in one page
  4. The words that decide the answer
  5. The method in six steps
  6. Templates T1 to T4
  7. Ten pitfalls
  8. Case study: offshore assembly did not make this item foreign-made
  9. Readiness check

What it does not cover

  • The de minimis calculation itself, once the item is confirmed foreign-made
  • Foreign direct product rules for items made with US technology, software or equipment
  • A high-stakes origin call on borderline facts, which needs qualified advice or a BIS advisory opinion

Assumed knowledge. The difference between jurisdiction, classification and scope (ITAR or EAR?), the notions of export, reexport and in-country transfer, and access to the item’s bill of materials and supply chain.

Sample pages

Cover
Cover
The rule in one page: the origin decision tree
The rule in one page: the origin decision tree
What the EAR say — and what Applied Materials suggests
What the EAR say — and what Applied Materials suggests
Step 5: conclude and record
Step 5: conclude and record
Case study: offshore assembly
Case study: offshore assembly

Open an image for the full-size page.

Where it connects

CJ-01

ITAR or EAR?

ITAR or EAR? decides which regime and list an item falls under; US-Origin or Foreign-Made? decides whether a US regime reaches it at all.

EAR-02

De Minimis

US-Origin or Foreign-Made? decides whether an item is foreign-made; De Minimis decides whether its US content brings it under the EAR.

Part of a collection

US-Origin or Foreign-Made? is one of the eight guides of Classification & Jurisdiction (Understand the Rules), available together at €390 instead of €89 each.

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