Over the years, I have written numerous articles and conducted extensive research on the cornerstones of customs. If you need reminding, there are three: tariff classification, also called the Harmonised System (HS); origin; and customs valuation.

Although the three are generally known and accepted, the question has always been where to access information on each in one place. As with all information, it is available on the World Wide Web, but not in a single place – well, until now.

The Customs Cooperation Council (CCC), better known as the World Customs Organisation (WCO), has released its Trade Tools platform, accessible at www.wcotradetools.org/. The WCO describes the platform as “a powerful tool to support actors in international trade”. It adds: “It is the official platform that the WCO created to facilitate your work as [an] actor of international trade to classify your products and support the exporting/importing of goods information on tariff classification, origin and customs valuation.”

The Trade Tools platform features the three cornerstones. The platform provides the full HS at a glance: the nomenclature, explanatory notes, and classification opinions. These can be selected for the HS2002, HS2007, HS2012 or HS2017 versions. You will recall that the HS2022 version will enter into force on January 1, 2022. If you want to learn more, then you could read the instalment of this column that was published on February 5 and is titled ‘Are we HS2022 ready? With the Trade Tools platform, it is possible to cross-reference information by using a comparison tool in the HS. Other features include an overview of the most recent HS updates, highlighting the changes that have been introduced. It is also possible to track the evolution of the HS codes across editions using a ‘History’ tool. Thirdly, there is a facility for searching through the product-specific rules in more than 200 free-trade agreements and to access the corresponding HS entry.

With respect to ‘origin’, the platform provides access to more than 300 international and regional trade agreements in a few clicks. It is possible to cross-reference information by using a comparison tool in the ‘rules of origin’.

The Trade Tools platform also provides all you need to know about the customs valuation of merchandise, including valuation texts, such as those of the Technical Committee on Customs Valuation.

Moreover, the platform includes three articles: ‘How Central is the Harmonised System for International Shipments? – Explore the Harmonized System’; ‘The importance of Rules of Origin: Preferential Tariffs – Browse Through More than 300 International Free-trade Agreements’; and ‘The Stakes of Customs Valuation – Get into the Rules of Interpretation of the Valuation’.

According to the WCO, the Trade Tools platform will promote cooperation among the different teams within customs administrations, as well as with customs brokers and companies, through various features, such as one that allows a user to tag information, write comments and share folders. It offers the possibility of further enhancing use of the platform, as users can search through the extensive databases, as well as organise and store the content in accordance with their personal preferences.

In addition to this new professional database, the WCO has announced the launch of its new online bookshop, where you can navigate through a range of WCO publications, buy them or subscribe to the organisation’s online services. The WCO states that the website has benefited from a complete revamp aimed at facilitating easy access to its publications and enhancing users’ navigation experience. If you are interested in obtaining more information on the customs cornerstones, please contact the WCO’s Publications and Data Solutions Service at publications@wcoomd.org.

Should you be interested in widening your knowledge of customs matters, the WCO offers an e-learning portal for the private sector and academia, with a number of courses. The WCO Academy is accessible at https://academy.wcoomd.org/.