Edited by Lorenzo Ontano, Matteo Zovi and Anna Tripodi
Through Regulation (EU) 2026/1455, the European Union has provided for the elimination of customs duties and the introduction of preferential tariff quotas for a wide range of goods of US origin.
At the same time, Regulation (EU) 2026/1422 was published, which introduced, within Regulation (EU) 2015/2447, Article 59-a, entitled “Proof of origin for the application of Regulation (EU) 2026/1455”.
This amendment has an immediate operational impact as it concerns the proof of origin of US goods. The Italian Customs Authority, by notice of July 7, 2026, incorporated the initial guidance provided by the European Commission during the 66th meeting of the Customs Expert Group – Origin Section.
In particular, the EU Commission clarified that no specific certificate of origin issued by the US authorities has been provided for in order to benefit from the zero tariff and, therefore, the principle of free proof of origin remains unchanged, according to which it is the importer who must provide suitable documentation to demonstrate the origin of the goods.
In any case, in order to benefit from the favorable tariff treatment, it is advisable to obtain a non-preferential certificate of origin issued by the competent US authorities, together with evidence of direct transport from the US to the EU.
Furthermore, if the goods have passed through third countries, the importer will have to provide proof that the goods remained under customs supervision and did not undergo any changes, other than those necessary for their preservation in good condition. For this purpose, a certificate of non-manipulation or other transport or commercial documentation may be used.
The issuance of Binding Origin Information (BOI) upon importation could provide useful support.
For the sake of completeness, it should be noted that Regulation (EU) 2026/1455 provides for the possibility for the Commission to suspend, in whole or in part, the tariff preferences if the United States compromises bilateral trade relations.
In the light of the above, economic operators involved in the importation of US goods should promptly verify the customs nomenclature codes of their goods against the Annexes to the aforementioned Regulation and prepare an adequate set of documentation to support the attestation of the non-preferential US customs origin of the imported goods.
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