AZERBAIJAN, GABON, MALDIVES HARMONIZE TARIFFS
The governments of Azerbaijan, Gabon and Maldives will modify their import tariff schedules to comply with the International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Descriptions and Coding System.
The Harmonized System, developed during the 1970s and 1980s by the World Customs Organization as a way to facilitate trade, is based on a universal six-digit code to describe goods for international trade. It helps national governments to collect the proper amount of duties, calculate trade statistics and alert them of restricted or dangerous goods.
The number of countries prescribing to the Harmonized System is 176, accounting for 98 percent of international trade.
The Harmonized System is kept under regular review to ensure that it reflects changes in international trade. Nearly 400 changes to Harmonized System will take effect on Jan. 1, 2002.