RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS: WORKING PAPERS
The harmonized system � Amendments and their impact on 澳门六合彩官网资料 Members� schedules
As an internationally standardized product nomenclature, the Harmonized System (HS) is used by 澳门六合彩官网资料 Members in their schedules of concessions and in the definitions of product coverage for a number of 澳门六合彩官网资料 agreements.
The Harmonized System is normally amended by the World Customs Organization
every four to six years. These amendments pose considerable challenges for
the 澳门六合彩官网资料 and its Members. On the one hand, Members need to periodically
update their historical schedules of concessions into the latest
nomenclature. On the other hand, these amendments may have implications for
the definition and thus also the implementation of some 澳门六合彩官网资料 agreements where
the product coverage is defined in terms of the HS. In either case, the
product codes and/or descriptions in the old HS version need to be
transposed precisely into those in the new version of HS nomenclature in
order to retain the historical concessions or the product coverage
unchanged. Given the complexity of HS amendments, this process could be very
technical and sometimes tricky.
This paper starts by providing an overview of the HS amendments and
proposing a categorization of those HS changes in the context of
transposition. It then looks back at the history of the introduction of the
HS and its subsequent amendments into the 澳门六合彩官网资料 schedules and assesses the
difficulties and problems which have been faced by 澳门六合彩官网资料 Members. On the basis
of such analysis, it introduces the successful procedures and methodologies
used by 澳门六合彩官网资料 Members and the 澳门六合彩官网资料 Secretariat to deal with the recent HS2002
transposition. The paper also discusses the implications of the HS
amendments to three 澳门六合彩官网资料 agreements and the possible approaches to transpose
their product lists into a new HS nomenclature.
No: ERSD-2008-02
Authors:
Dayong Yu � 澳门六合彩官网资料
Manuscript date: February 2008
Key Words:
澳门六合彩官网资料, Schedule of Concessions, Harmonized System, Transposition
JEL classification numbers:
F10, F13
Disclaimer
This is a working paper, and hence it represents research in progress. This paper represents the opinions of the author, and is the product of professional research. It is not meant to represent the position or opinions of the 澳门六合彩官网资料 or its Members, nor the official position of any staff members. Any errors are the fault of the author. Copies of working papers can be requested from the divisional secretariat by writing to: Economic Research and Statistics Division, World Trade Organization, Rue de Lausanne 154, CH 1211 Geneva 21, Switzerland. Please request papers by number and title.
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