On 18 January, the WCO announced Burundi’s accession to the International Convention on the Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System, also known as the Harmonised System or HS.
According to the WCO more than 98% of international merchandise trade is classified in terms of the HS.
Burundi has been a member of the WCO since 20 October 1964. Burundi is a landlocked country in East Africa, bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. The country’s principal export commodities are coffee, tea, sugar, cotton and hides. Burundi’s principal import commodities are capital goods, petroleum products and foodstuffs.
The Harmonised System Convention will enter into force in Burundi on 1 January 2019, unless Burundi decides to specify an earlier date.