Export/Import Procedures and Documentation, 5th Edition

Chapter 9

Determining the Proper Classification of a Product

The lack of uniformity in the classification of products moving across borders created concern as global trade increased. In 1952 the Customs Cooperation Council was formed in Brussels, Belgium, to develop a system that could be used for this purpose, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that the Harmonized System of Classification and Coding—developed under the Council, now called the World Customs Organization (WCO)—began to garner acceptance. On January 1, 1988, most members of the World Trade Organization adopted the Harmonized Tariff System (HTS). On January 1, 1989, the United States replaced its Tariff Schedule of the United States with a new Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United ...