"Tariff Classification Using the Harmonized Tariff Schedule" provides a background of the harmonized tariff schedule and its structure, the General Rules of Interpretation, including the additional rule applied by the United States with examples of each. A summary of the General Notes (includes trade agreements for the United States) is included plus more.The Harmonized Tariff Schedule is used by over 200 countries around the world, representing the majority of international trade. It is an international coding system for assigning a number to a good so that the first six (6) digits are the same no matter where it is imported around the world. Each country can further describe the good and add more digits and assign their own rate of duty. There are "General Rules of Interpretation" that have been created by the Customs Cooperation Council, informally known as World Customs Organizations. When classifying goods under the Harmonized System, on the language of the General Rules of Interpretation, section, chapter and subheading notes are to be consulted and applied. Incorrect classification can result in the wrong duty rate in the importing county and incorrect statistics reported in the exporting country - end result is severe penalties may be assessed against importers and exporters.
About the Author: Jan Seal is an International Trade Consultant and Licensed Customhouse Broker with over 40 years experience in international trade. She worked for U. S. Customs for over 20 years in various regulatory enforcement and management positions. She was the Pacific Region Program Manager for such major programs as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Intellectual Property Rights, Country of Origin Marking, Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Cases, Commercial Enforcement and others. Ms. Seal was appointed as a member of the U. S. Customs Team for the implementation and training of the NAFTA Agreement. She is the author of eight books titled "The NAFTA Rules of Origin and Documentation", "Audits and Compliance - Customs Modernization Act", "The U.S. Customs Broker's Correspondence Course", "Textiles and Wearing Apparel: Documentation and Procedures", "Mexico Procedures and Documentation", "Tariff Classification using the Harmonized Tariff Schedule", "U.S. Trade Agreements", and "Import Documentation and Procedures". She has written model lesson plans, which were used for numerous training sessions throughout U.S. Customs, brokerage, and trade community. Prior to NAFTA, Ms. Seal conducted "Broker Refresher Training Courses" throughout the United States for the National Customs Broker's Association as a member of the U. S. Customs Broker Training Team. In addition, she has taught courses for Import Specialists at the National Customs Academy. Ms. Seal has been a frequent speaker/instructor at nation-wide seminars/webinars for Unz Company, World Compliance Seminars, Complianceonline, Women in International Trade, colleges, and international trade organizations on many international trade topics. Some of the topics are NAFTA, Audits under the Customs Modernization Act, Textile Rules of Origin, Export Documentation and Procedures for Canada/Mexico and other countries, Letters of Credit, Importing into the United States, Harmonized Tariff Schedule Classification, and Customhouse Broker Training. She has been a member of both the Customs Import and Export Groups of Women in International Trade. She received her BA Degree from California State University at Fullerton with a year of post-graduate work in Education at the University of California, Riverside. She received her MBA from California State University, Dominguez Hills, and is a member of Delta Mu Delta National Honor Society in Business Administration.