English

Noun

country of origin ‎(plural countries of origin)

1. (law) The country in which a person or thing is deemed to have originated for the purposes of laws and regulations.
2. (international trade) The country where shipped goods are produced.
3. (international trade) The country in which the last stage of substantial transformation of goods occurred.
4. (international trade) The country in which the most important processing took place.
5. (international trade) The country in which a substantial amount of processing took place.
   • 1922, "Canadian Origin Ruling Does not Affect Publishers", Printer's Ink, November 2, 1922

     The country of origin of a manufactured article is held to be the country in which the article has been finished by a substantial amount of labor amounting to not less than one-fourth the cost of production of such article in condition as imported into Canada.

6. (consumer goods) The country indicated on a label as being the country in which the goods were made.

   It says "Made in Mexico". I wonder if that is the real country of origin.

   • 2000, M. Isabel Valdés, Marketing to American Latinos: a guide to the in-culture approach, page 71

     Reviewing your Hispanic business plan and marketing strategy through the lens of country of origin can help you uncover unique benefits or barriers.

   • 2005, Michael Loeffler and Ulrich Lutz, "A Multi-dimensional Approach to Country of Origin Effects in the Automobile Market", page 1

     Country-specific brand images and country of origin effects are key topics in this area.

7. (publishing) Country of first publication.
   • 1912, Richard Rogers Bowker, Copyright, Its History and Its Law: Being a Summary of the Principles and ..., page 607

     The country of origin of the work is that in which the work is first published.

See also

• country of departure
• country of destination
• country of dispatch
• country of provenance

Translations