Country of Origin Marking of Products from the West Bank and Gaza

Today, U.S. Customs and Border Protection published a Federal Register Notice to ensure that country of origin markings for Israeli and Palestinian goods are consistent with the United States’ foreign policy approach. The notice establishes that producers within certain areas designated in the Oslo Accords and the Hebron Protocol must mark their goods as “Israel,” “Product of Israel,” or “Made in Israel” when exporting those goods to the United States. Parties that import these goods into the United States are responsible for ensuring compliance with the marking requirements.

CBP is publishing this Federal Register Notice (85 FR 83984) based upon guidance from the U.S. Department of State that the country of origin marking requirements for goods produced in certain areas of the West Bank be updated to reflect the fact that producers in these areas operate within the economic and administrative framework of Israel. Goods produced in areas of the West Bank where the Palestinian Authority maintains relevant authorities shall be marked as products of  “West Bank” and goods produced in Gaza shall be marked as products of  “Gaza.”  

This document notifies the public that, for country of origin marking purposes, imported goods produced in the West Bank, specifically in Area C under the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement (the Oslo Accords), signed on September 28, 1995, and the area known as ‘‘H2’’ under the Israeli- Palestinian Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron and Related Documents (the Hebron Protocol), signed January 17, 1997, must be marked to indicate their origin as ‘‘Israel,’’ ‘‘Product of Israel,’’ or ‘‘Made in Israel.’’ Goods produced in the West Bank, specifically in Areas A and B under the Oslo Accords and the area known as ‘‘H1’’ under the 1997 Hebron Protocol, must be marked to indicate their origin as ‘‘West Bank,’’ ‘‘Product of West Bank,’’ or ‘‘Made in West Bank.’’ Goods produced in Gaza must be marked to indicate their origin as ‘‘Gaza,’’ ‘‘Product of Gaza,’’ ‘‘Made in Gaza,’’ ‘‘Gaza Strip,’’ ‘‘Product of Gaza Strip,’’ or ‘‘Made in Gaza Strip.’’ Imported goods from any of these territorial areas must not include ‘‘West Bank/Gaza,’’ ‘‘West Bank/Gaza Strip,’’ ‘‘West Bank and Gaza,’’ or words of similar meaning.