International Customs Harmonized System And Its Domestic Implementation

"Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System" (hereinafter referred to as the " Harmonized System") is an uniform criteria for tariff classification. The system is used to facilitate international trade, and satisfy basic requirements in customs, statistics, transportation and so on. The content of "Harmonized System" includes General Rues of Interpretation, Section and Chapter Notes, headings and sub-headings, among which the goods are divided into 21 sections,97 chapters (the 77th chapter is blank). The system has been widely implemented around the world since its entry into force. Currently, it is used by more than 200 countries and economies as a basis for their Customs tariffs and for the collection of international trade statistics. Over 98% of the merchandise in international trade is classified in terms of the "Harmonized System".However, domestic legal circle has not conducted enough research about the "Harmonized System" and its implementation, or its relationship with certain WTO mechanism (such as Tariff Concession). With further economic co operations in the international level and more trade disputes, the "Harmonized System" will play an increasingly important role. In addition, the goods classification is closely connected with duty collection. Thus the coordination between the system and relevant WTO mechanism is essential. Given this consideration, the author decided to make a detailed research on the worldwide implementation of "Harmonized System".The thesis includes six chapters. In chapter 1, the author briefly introduces the history and content of the "Harmonized System", and analyses the role of Harmonized System Committee. In chapter 2, the author mainly studies the relationship between the "Harmonized System" and the Tariff Concession in WTO. The author clarifies the jurisdiction and the role of the "Harmonized System" in cases on tariff classification by analyzing the legal text and cases. In chapter 3, the author discusses the implementation of "Harmonized System" in the United States. Though the analyses of legal background and cases, the author explains the effect of legal documents such as the "Harmonized System" and the Explanatory Note, the decisions of the Harmonized System Committee and so on. In chapter 4, the author introduces the implementation in European Union. By means of discussing the laws and regulations as well as relevant cases, the author studyies the part of the "Harmonized System" in tariff classification cases. In chapter 5, the author focuses on the implementation in China. The author reveals the problems encountered in the process of applying the system and offer solutions thereof by studying the legislation and a case. The last part is the summary of this thesis, concluding the implementation of the "Harmonized System" in major countries and areas in the world.