Country of origin explained: made in, assembled in, printed in
Customs asks where a product was made, not where it shipped from. How origin works, why printing does not change it, the three kinds of origin, and what to do this week.
By the Othermile team
Short answer: customs asks where a product was made, not where it shipped from or where it was finished. For most goods that is the country where it last changed into a new product. Printing, packing or labelling it somewhere else usually does not change it.
Why origin matters more than ever
Most tariffs between Canada and the US now follow the country of origin. A shirt made in Honduras pays the duty for a product of Honduras, whether it ships from Toronto, Texas or Tegucigalpa. Get the origin wrong and every estimate built on it is wrong too.
The basic rule
A product's origin is usually the country where it was wholly made, or where it last went through a big enough change to become a different product. Customs people call that a substantial transformation.
| What happened in the second country | Usually changes the origin? |
|---|---|
| Printed a design on a finished T shirt | No |
| Packed, labelled or bundled into a kit | No |
| Sewed cut fabric into a garment | Usually yes, for clothing |
| Assembled parts into a working machine | Often, depending on the product |
| Melted and poured steel | Yes, for steel tariffs that ask where it was melted |
Clothing has its own detailed rules in both countries, which generally look at where the garment was sewn. When in doubt for a product you sell in volume, ask for a ruling.
Three kinds of origin
- Marking origin: the "Made in" label. It must not mislead.
- Tariff origin: the country customs uses for duty and most tariffs. Usually the same as the label.
- CUSMA origin: whether the product qualifies as North American for the trade agreement. It has its own rules per product, and a product can be "made in Canada" yet not qualify, or the other way round.
Print on demand and origin
This is where most stores go wrong. A blank sewn in Bangladesh and printed in North Carolina is, for duty purposes, a product of Bangladesh. Our guide to print on demand and where products are made goes deeper, and Othermile for Printify keeps the origin per product.
What to do this week
- Find the country of origin for each product, from your supplier's listing or your print provider's product page.
- Record it once, next to the tariff code.
- Check whether any of your countries carry an extra tariff right now, in Border news.
Try it on your own parcel
What would this parcel owe at the border?
Change the product, where it was made, the price or how it ships, then check. Free, with no account.
Your estimate appears here.
Pick a product and price, then check.
Othermile checks every order like this before it ships, and holds the costly ones for your OK. Start free
Check your own numbers
- One parcel: the free border fee checker.
- Your store's last 90 days: the free border cost audit.
- Every order, before it ships: Othermile checks each one against your limits and holds the costly ones for your OK.
These are estimates from the official rules, not customs advice.
This guide explains public rules in plain language for general information. It is not customs, tax or legal advice; the exact tariff code, your paperwork and the carrier decide the final amount.
Selling on Printify?
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Othermile holds each Printify order before production, works out the duty, tariffs and fees for your customer, and prices every print provider and route.
Selling on Printful?
Othermile for Printful
Othermile holds each Printful order before production, works out the duty, tariffs and fees your customer may pay at the door, and keeps your margin in view.
See what your own orders cost at the border.
Start freeOr price a parcel above, or get an email when the rules change
Keep reading
Section 232, Section 301 and country tariffs: US tariffs in plain words
The US charges several kinds of extra tariff, each under a different law. Which follow the product, which follow the country, what no longer applies, and how they stack.
Where Canada and US tariffs could go next, and how to be ready
Nobody can forecast the next tariff, but the moments when rules change are known. The dates worth watching, the three kinds of change, and five ways to be ready without guessing.
How the tariffs between Canada and the US started: a timeline for online sellers
From a mostly duty free border to metals tariffs, the end of duty free parcels into the US, a court ruling and new country tariffs. What happened, in order, and what each step means for a small store.