In 1995, at a meeting in Marrakesh, World Trade Organization (WTO) ministers endorsed the Rules of Origin Agreement, which foresaw the harmonization of the non-preferential rules of origin by the WTO Committee on Rules of Origin (CRO) and the Technical Committee on Rules of Origin (TCRO) of the World Customs Organization (WCO), within a three year period. However, the harmonization process has so far taken more than six years and there are still many issues awaiting consensus and final decisions.
