metier
SOURCING & ORIGIN

Where things are made, and why it matters

Country of origin now drives landed cost as much as the factory price does, and the rules in major destination markets keep moving. This page explains how we work the question, in plain terms and without quoting numbers that will be stale by the time you read them.

THE MAP
Offshore, nearshore, reshore
Offshore. China is where we buy today, and it remains the widest supplier base and lowest unit cost for most categories at small and mid-size quantities, provided quality and communication are managed on the ground. That management is our core business. On request we evaluate and qualify suppliers in other Asian origins, including Vietnam, India, Malaysia, and Indonesia. We say "evaluate and qualify" deliberately: we don't claim a supplier base in a country until we've audited a factory there and run product through it.
Nearshore. Mexico and Latin America offer shorter transit to North American markets and different duty treatment, with a thinner supplier base. Right for some products, and often fed by Asian components that we can structure and supply.
Reshore. Best where speed, regulation, or customer preference demands production in your home market. Domestic producers still buy components and tooling from Asia, and sourcing those well is where we fit.
THE RULE MOST PEOPLE GET WRONG
What actually changes origin

A product's country of origin is set by where it was substantially transformed: where it became a new and different article of commerce, with a new name, character, or use. Customs authorities look at what actually happened to the goods, and they look hard.

If a supplier or agent tells you origin can be changed with a stopover and a new label, walk away.

Substantial transformation
Origin is set where goods become a new and different article of commerce. Not where they were boxed.
Assembly isn't enough
Repackaging, relabeling, or simple third-country assembly doesn't move origin, however the paperwork reads.
Your name on the entry
The importer answers for a false origin claim, not the agent who suggested the shortcut.
DUTY PREFERENCE
The preference you may already be entitled to

China has trade agreements with a long list of countries, and under most of them a large share of goods enter at reduced or zero duty. The catch is procedural, and suppliers rarely raise it: the paperwork is on their side and the saving is on yours, so it gets skipped unless somebody asks.

We check whether your goods qualify under the agreement covering your market, and we make the certificate a condition in the purchase order rather than a favour we ask for after the fact.

In hand at filing
Your customs authority wants a valid certificate of origin at the moment you file. Miss it and you pay the full rate, or post a guarantee while it gets sorted out.
Issued in China
Only the authorised body there can issue it, which is why it has to be arranged on the buying side.
A PO condition
Written into the purchase order up front, never requested after the goods have shipped.
YOUR MARKET'S RULES
What your destination market will ask for

Before you order, it's worth knowing what your destination market will ask for. Some products need registration, some need testing or a certification mark, some need particular labelling, and some need a local representative in the market. The time to find out is while you're still choosing a supplier, because a factory that can't produce the documentation you'll need is the wrong factory whatever the price says.

We'll tell you what applies and what a supplier has to be able to provide. Where you need formal registration in your own market, we'll say so and point you to someone who handles it.

THE METHOD
How we handle duty

We don't publish rates. They'd be wrong within a quarter. What we commit to is the method, run before you commit to an order:

Classification review. We check your product's tariff classification and document how we arrived at it. Borrowing a code from a similar-looking product is a common shortcut and a bad habit.
Origin documentation. Papers that establish where the goods are actually from, prepared to survive scrutiny at entry.
Rates verified at date of entry. The duty treatment for your destination market is confirmed against the rules in force when your goods enter.
Origins compared. Where it matters, candidate origins priced side by side before you choose, on the same product and specification.
OUR POSITION
Where we stand on origin

Metier works origin legally. We will structure sourcing to obtain legitimate duty treatment, and we will not misdeclare, relabel, or route goods to disguise where they are from. If the honest answer is that your product's economics don't work from a given origin, we'll tell you, and we'll help you find one that does.

Tell us what you need to import.

Whether it's a product idea, a supplier problem, or a full supply chain to rebuild, start with an email. We reply within one business day.

Answer what you know. Blank is fine.
Please don't send confidential drawings or specifications yet. If the work needs them, we'll put an NDA in place first.
We read it, come back with questions, and give you a view on whether it's worth pursuing before anyone quotes anything.
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