The 75th Session of the Harmonized System Committee (HSC), held from 10 to 21 March 2025, has concluded its two-week intensive discussion session with the provisional adoption of the Article 16 Recommendation that will form the new 2028 edition of the Harmonized System (HS).
This means that all negotiations have been concluded. The Recommendation will be presented to the WCO Council for recommendation to the Contracting Parties. After formal adoption at the end of December 2025, the Recommendation will be made public in January 2026 and go into effect on 1 January 2028.
The meeting, chaired by Mr. Tom Beris from the United States, was attended at the WCO headquarters by 64 members from 63 countries and the European Union. Several international organizations and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) also participated in-person as observers.
In his opening remarks, the Chairperson stressed that this was the final session for the Committee to provisionally adopt amendments for the HS 2028 edition and was the culmination of six years of hard work from many people, including the Harmonized System Committee, HS Review Sub-Committee, the Scientific Sub-Committee, the Secretariat, and stakeholders who had proposed changes. He hoped that the Committee would provide clear guidance, which would help everyone with understanding and working in the HS.
The Committee met these expectations, producing outstanding results.
Out of 85 agenda items, 80 were examined, leading to:
- 66 classification decisions,
- classification of 441 products on the latest lists of the World Health Organization for pharmaceutical substances and ingredients requesting an International Nonproprietary Name (INN),
- 6 amendments to the HS 2022 Explanatory Notes, and
- 14 new Classification Opinions.
Regarding the HS 2028 amendments, the Committee provisionally adopted:
- 105 amendment proposals,
- 5 amendments to the Explanatory Notes, and
- the WCO Recommendation for the HS 2028 amendments under Article 16 of the Harmonized System Convention, which is the complete package of all 299 sets of amendments for HS 2028 agreed upon during the 7th Review Cycle as prepared for Council submission
In addition, the Committee adopted rules for managing late submissions of requests or information ahead of meeting sessions and approved the Self-Assessment Tool for Regional Customs Laboratories.
In his closing remarks, WCO Secretary General Ian Saunders, congratulated the Committee on successfully delivering the HS 2028 Recommendation. He noted that the journey had been longer than initially anticipated, but the Committee had persevered through the challenges posed by the global pandemic and the lack of in-person meetings. He expressed appreciation for the Committee’s continued efforts to resolve a wide range of important classification issues in pursuit of a globally harmonized system and encouraged ongoing commitment as discussions begin for the next review cycle.