How central is the Harmonized System for international shipments? 

At the heart of international trade, the harmonized system is an essential tool for harmonizing and facilitating the movement of goods around the globe.

Since its creation in the 70s, the HS code has become a universal economic language essential to the fluidity of international trade. The system is used by more than 200 countries and economies as a basis for their customs duties and for the collection of international trade statistics. More than 98% of goods in international trade are classified in terms of HS.

All international tariffs are based on the Harmonized System. The European CN, the US HTS and all other national or regional tariffs have a common denominator: the Harmonized System which constitutes the basis for the six first digits. Getting the source of all these national and regional tariffs right gives you a leading edge in classifying correctly your goods.

Within wcotradetools.org we provide the latest up to date information regarding the Harmonized System supported by modern functionalities. We are aware that international shipping is a tricky thing for many businesses. We provide a tool to compare the HS between codes and also between languages (the two official languages: English and French but also the other languages translated by our national and regional partners). A personal workspace is also at your disposal to bookmark, classify and organize your notes and work on the platform.

Tools were developed with the end-users in mind to facilitate the classification of your commodities and prevent you from being exposed to legal repercussions such as penalties, seizure of products and more, due to the use of the wrong HS code.

Data and Publication

 

WCO Trade Tools provides essential information to support your trade activity.

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