Common use of Non-Qualifying Operations Clause in Contracts

Non-Qualifying Operations. 1. The following operations shall be considered to be non-qualifying operations to confer the status of originating goods, whether or not the requirements under this Chapter are satisfied: (a) operations to ensure the preservation of goods in good condition during transport and storage; (b) changes of packing or breaking-up or assembly of packages; (c) washing, cleaning, removal of dust, oxide, oil, paint, or other coverings; (d) ironing or pressing of textiles; (e) simple painting and polishing operations; (f) husking, partial or total bleaching, polishing, and glazing of cereals and rice; (g) simple placing in bottles, cans, flasks, bags, cases, boxes, fixing on cards or boards, and all other simple packing operations; (h) simple mixing of products, whether or not of different kinds; (i) simple assembly of parts of articles to constitute a complete article or disassembly of products into parts; (j) xxxxxxxxx of animals; or (k) a combination of two or more operations specified in subparagraphs (a) through (j). 2. All operations carried out in a Party on a given good shall be considered together when determining whether the operations undergone by that good are to be regarded as non-qualifying within the meaning of paragraph 1. 3. For purposes of this Article: (a) simple means activities which need neither special skills nor machines, apparatus or equipment especially produced or installed for carrying out the activity; (b) simple mixing means activities which need neither special skills nor machines, apparatus, or equipment especially produced or installed for carrying out the activity but does not include chemical reaction; and (c) chemical reaction means a process (including a biochemical process) which results in a molecule with a new structure by breaking intramolecular bonds and by forming new intramolecular bonds, or by altering the spatial arrangement of atoms in a molecule.