Mr Mick FlemingPresident & CEO American Chamber of Commerce Executives(ACCE)4875 Eisenhower Ave.22304-485 Alexandria, VA, USA 27 May 2011
Certificates of Origin
Dear Mr Fleming,The role of chambers of commerce as issuing agencies for certificates of origin (CO) can betraced back to the 1923 Geneva Convention relating to the Simplification of Customs Formalities(Article 11), and has been reinforced with the updated Kyoto Convention.Under these Conventions, signatory governments were able to allow
organizations “whichpossess the necessary authority and offer the necessary guarantees” to the State
to issuecertificates of origin. Thus due to the widespread network of the chamber of commercecommunity, in most countries, chambers of commerce were seen as these organizations allowedto issue certificates of origin.To support them in their role and responsibility in issuing this documentation, the ICC WorldChambers Federation has published the International Certificate of Origin Guidelines in six languages, providing chambers with the necessary framework to deliver this service to thehighest possible standard.By definition, a Certificate of Origin is an official document certifying the origin of the goodsbeing exported. In most of Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America they are usually issued by Chambers and supervised by official government agencies.Chambers shall not outsource these functions for which they have the expertise, commercialintelligence and responsibility on a trusted independent third party basis and transparent andaccountable verification process.To provide this important service, authorized Chambers have the obligation to comply withtheir conditions of appointment which include having a permanent Secretariat with a dedicatedCO Unit/Department manned by professionally trained personnel.