EUR.1 is dead for Chile: proving EU origin under the new agreement

The EU-Chile Interim Trade Agreement entered into force on 1 February 2025 and eliminates tariffs on 99.9 per cent of EU exports to Chile. It also changed how you prove origin, immediately and without a transitional period.

From that date, EUR.1 movement certificates could no longer be used for EU-Chile trade. If your export documentation process still produces one, it is producing a document Chilean customs will not accept for preference, and the consequence is duty paid on goods that were entitled to enter free.

What replaces it

Two bases, and you choose one per consignment.

A statement on origin made out by the exporter on an invoice or other commercial document identifying the goods. This is self-certification: no customs office visit, no stamp, and the responsibility for the correctness of the claim sits with you.

Importer's knowledge, where the importer claims preference on the basis of information it holds itself about the originating status of the goods. This is used where the importer is in a position to know, typically within a group, and it puts the evidential burden on the importer rather than the exporter.

The customs declaration carries a code identifying which basis is being used, so the choice is recorded rather than implicit.

The REX requirement, and the threshold

To make out a statement on origin, an EU exporter needs a registration in the Registered Exporter system, and quotes its REX number in the statement. The exception is consignments not exceeding 6,000 euros, where any exporter may make out a statement without being registered.

That threshold catches people out in both directions. A company shipping samples and small orders may never need a REX registration for Chile and can conclude, wrongly, that it does not need one for larger shipments either. And a company that registered years ago for another agreement often has the number already and does not realise it applies here too. REX registration is not agreement-specific; one registration serves all the EU arrangements that use the system.

If you do not have one, apply to your national customs authority. It is free and it is the prerequisite for every recent EU trade agreement, including the modernised Mexico agreement when it applies: see how to prove EU origin to Mexican customs, which sets out why the Chile change is the best available preview of what happens there.

The part that is not paperwork

Self-certification moves the risk. Under EUR.1 your customs authority checked the claim before issuing the certificate, which was slow and was also a form of insurance. Under a statement on origin nobody checks it in advance. Verification happens afterwards, on request from Chilean customs through your own authority, and it can look back over past shipments.

So the discipline has to move upstream, into your own records. You need to be able to demonstrate, per product, that the applicable product-specific rule was met: the change of tariff heading, or the value threshold, or whichever test the protocol sets for your goods. That means supplier declarations for your inputs, and a file you can actually produce two years later.

For a manufacturer using Asian components in a European assembly, this is where the real question sits. It is not a documentation question, it is a bill of materials question, and the answer can be that the goods do not originate at all.

What to do this week

1. Check whether you hold a REX registration. If not, apply.
2. Check what your export documentation process currently produces for Chile. If it produces a EUR.1, fix it.
3. Establish, per product, that the origin rule is actually met, and keep the evidence.
4. Tell your Chilean importer which basis you are using, because they complete the declaration.

For what the preference is worth once you have it, and the rest of the cost of landing goods in Chile, see our Chile market page.

What "originating" actually means

The word does most of the work in this area and is the least examined. Origin is not where the goods were shipped from, and it is not where the company is registered. It is a legal test set out in the agreement's origin protocol, applied product by product.

Two routes satisfy it in most cases. Goods can be wholly obtained in the EU, which covers raw materials and agricultural products but rarely manufactured goods. Or they can be sufficiently worked or processed in the EU, which is where the product-specific rules come in: typically a change of tariff classification from the non-originating inputs, or a maximum percentage of non-originating material by value, or a specified processing operation.

For a European manufacturer assembling from a global supply chain, that is a bill of materials question. If your inputs come from Asia and your operation in Europe is assembly rather than transformation, the goods may not originate at all, and issuing a statement on origin for them is a false declaration rather than an administrative shortcut.

The agreement also carries cumulation rules, which allow materials from certain other territories to be treated as originating. Whether they help you is specific to your inputs and your product's rule, and it is the first thing to ask a customs adviser when the straightforward test fails.

Common questions

Is EUR.1 still valid for exports to Chile?

No. EUR.1 movement certificates could no longer be used for EU-Chile trade from 1 February 2025, when the Interim Trade Agreement entered into force, and there was no transitional period.

How do I claim EU preference in Chile now?

With a statement on origin made out by the exporter on a commercial document, or on the basis of importer's knowledge. The customs declaration identifies which basis is used.

Do I need a REX number to export to Chile?

Yes, to make out a statement on origin, unless the consignment does not exceed 6,000 euros. REX registration is free, obtained from your national customs authority, and is not specific to one agreement.

Who is responsible if a Chilean origin claim is wrong?

The exporter for the correctness of a statement on origin it made out, and the importer for a claim based on importer's knowledge. Verification happens after clearance and can look back at past shipments, so keep the supporting evidence per product rather than per shipment.