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Chainomics AI’s USMCA Eligibility Wizard automates the rules-of-origin analysis required to claim preferential tariff treatment under the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement. This page explains how the wizard works, what each preference criterion means, and how to pair the wizard with the Document Risk Scanner for end-to-end document validation.
The wizard uses AI to suggest HTS classifications from your product description. These suggestions are ranked by confidence (High / Medium / Low) and link to the relevant HTS chapter and USMCA-specific notes. You remain responsible for the final classification. Chainomics provides guidance only — final determinations should be reviewed by a licensed customs broker or trade attorney.

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What the USMCA Eligibility Wizard Does

The wizard automates three calculations that trade compliance teams typically perform manually:
  1. Regional Value Content (RVC) — calculates the percentage of a product’s value that originates within USMCA territory using either the Transaction Value or Net Cost method.
  2. Tariff-shift rule checking — compares the HTS chapter of each non-originating input against the finished good’s chapter to determine whether the required tariff shift has occurred.
  3. De minimis threshold validation — checks whether non-originating materials that fail the tariff-shift test fall below the 10% threshold (7% for textiles and apparel).
When the wizard completes, it returns a determination of Qualifies or Does Not Qualify, the qualifying basis, and the preference criterion. Every determination is saved to your account for a 5-year audit trail, as required by USMCA Article 5.2.

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Eligibility Wizard Workflow

1

Enter a product description

Go to USMCA Eligibility in the sidebar. Type a product description in plain English (for example, “automotive brake assemblies”). Click Classify to trigger AI-assisted HTS classification. Chainomics returns up to three HTS code suggestions ranked by confidence, each with a description, chapter reference, and any USMCA-specific notes. Select the best match or enter the code manually.
2

Set product details

Enter the country of manufacture (US, Mexico, or Canada), the product value and currency (USD, MXN, or CAD), and the import and export countries. These values feed the RVC calculation in the next step.
3

Upload or enter your Bill of Materials

On the Bill of Materials step, add each input material with its description, HS code, country of origin, unit cost, and quantity. You can add items manually, import from a CSV (download the template from the page), or use Infer Origins to let the AI suggest countries of origin for each component based on its description and HS code. Materials with a US, Mexico, or Canadian origin are automatically flagged as originating.
4

Choose an RVC method

Select the Transaction Value method (default) or the Net Cost method. If you select Net Cost, enter the net cost figure. Chainomics calculates the RVC percentage in real time. The threshold for most goods is 75%.
5

Review your RVC percentage

The wizard displays the calculated RVC percentage alongside the 75% threshold. A green value indicates the threshold is met; a red value indicates it is not. The Value of Non-originating Materials (VNM) breakdown is shown below the RVC figure.
6

Check tariff-shift rules

The wizard runs a chapter-level tariff-shift check against every non-originating material in your BOM. A passing check means each non-originating input belongs to a different HTS chapter than the finished good. The result is shown in the Audit Trail — Rules Checked table.
7

Review de minimis validation

If the tariff-shift check fails for any material, the wizard checks whether the non-originating value falls at or below the de minimis threshold — 10% of transaction value for most goods, 7% for textiles (HTS chapters 61, 62, and 52). A passing de minimis check results in a Conditionally Eligible determination.
8

Get your determination

Click Run Eligibility Check. The wizard returns one of four verdicts: Eligible, Conditionally Eligible, Ineligible, or Insufficient Data (if no BOM has been entered). The determination includes the qualifying basis, preference criterion (A through D), confidence level, and the full rules-checked audit trail. If the product is eligible, proceed to the Certificate of Origin step to generate a USMCA Annex 5-A COO as a PDF or JSON.

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Preference Criteria

USMCA preference criteria define the rule-of-origin basis on which a good qualifies for preferential tariff treatment. The wizard automatically assigns the correct criterion based on the eligibility check result.
The good is wholly obtained or produced entirely within USMCA territory — for example, minerals extracted in Canada, agricultural products grown in Mexico, or live animals born and raised in the United States. No non-originating materials are used. The wizard assigns Criterion A when no BOM items are declared and the country of manufacture is US, Mexico, or Canada.
The good is produced entirely within USMCA territory using only originating materials — materials that themselves qualify under USMCA rules of origin. Every BOM item must have a US, Mexican, or Canadian origin. Criterion B is stricter than Criterion D because it requires 100% originating inputs rather than a minimum RVC percentage.
The good is produced in USMCA territory and contains non-originating materials, but all non-originating inputs undergo a qualifying change in tariff classification (tariff shift) as specified in USMCA Annex 4-B. In most cases this means a chapter-level shift: the non-originating material and the finished good must belong to different HTS chapters. This is the most commonly applied criterion for manufactured goods.
The good is produced in USMCA territory and meets the Regional Value Content threshold — typically 75% — under either the Transaction Value or Net Cost method. Criterion D is used when the tariff-shift rule cannot be satisfied but enough of the product’s value originates in USMCA territory. Automotive goods are subject to additional Labor Value Content (LVC ≥ 25%) and steel and aluminum purchasing requirements that must be verified separately.

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Determination History and Audit Trail

Every determination you run is saved to your account and accessible across devices. The History tab lets you filter by HTS code, product description, or result, and export all records to CSV. USMCA requires 5-year record retention for certifications — your Chainomics history satisfies this requirement provided you have a complete and accurate BOM on file.

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Pairing with Document Risk Scanner

Use the USMCA Eligibility Wizard together with the Document Risk Scanner for end-to-end validation:
  1. Run the USMCA Eligibility Wizard to confirm origin qualification and generate a Certificate of Origin.
  2. Upload the Certificate of Origin, commercial invoice, and Bill of Lading to the Document Risk Scanner.
  3. The scanner validates the origin and USMCA preference fields across all three documents, catching inconsistencies before customs filing.

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Who Uses USMCA Eligibility

  • Freight forwarders preparing USMCA Certificates of Origin for cross-border shipments.
  • Importers verifying whether a supplier’s goods qualify for preferential duty rates before placing a purchase order.
  • Customs brokers building an audit-ready determination record for each qualifying shipment.