New Harmonized System standards to enter into force on 1 January 2017

The new version of the HS includes 234 sets of amendments. Environmental and social issues are a major feature of these amendments, due to the importance of the HS as a global tool for collecting trade statistics and monitoring trade. The majority of the recommended amendments were broached by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

This has been excerpted from an 11 July 2014 news release by the World Customs Organization and is available in its entirety at:
http://www.wcoomd.org/en/media/newsroom/2014/july/new-harmonized-system-standards-to-enter-into-force-on-1-january-2017.aspx