New Customs Requirements for Packages to European Union (EU) Countries

Do not use any abbreviations.

• 姓名：Complete First Name and Last Name
• 地址：Road Name, Number, ZIP Code^™, City, State
• 联系信息：Phone, Email

Do not use any abbreviations.

• 姓名：Complete First Name and Last Name
• 地址：Road Name, Number, Postal Code, City, State/Province, Country
• 联系信息：Phone, Email

Acceptable goods descriptions must include:

• Complete, detailed information, explaining the precise nature of the goods in plain language
• An indication of what the goods are, what they are made of, and what purpose they serve
  

  Acceptable Description

  • Television
  • 手机
  • Men's cotton t-shirts
  • Polyester women's socks

  Unacceptable Description

  • 电子产品
  • 衣物

You must include a separate and specific value for all items in your shipment. Once calculated, included a total value for the shipment.

You must include the total gross weight of the package and the unit of calculation (i.e., pounds or kilograms).

What is the Harmonized System?

The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System generally referred to as "Harmonized System" or "HS" is a multipurpose international product nomenclature developed by the World Customs Organization (WCO). The system categorizes commodity groups by six-digit codes, creating a universal economic language for the shipping of goods. These codes are used for internal taxes, trade policies, monitoring of controlled goods, rules of origin, freight tariffs, transport statistics, price monitoring, quota controls, compilation of national accounts, and economic research and analysis. The WCO updates the HS every 5 years.¹

Countries often add additional digits to the end of the six-digit code to further classify products. The United States uses a 10-digit code to classify products.²

What are the Challenges?³

• The Harmonized System is complex; it is difficult and expensive to implement and requires extensive training.
• Countries create unique sub-classifications that do not align internationally.
• The WCO recommends quantities associated with the HS codes which do not always align with the quantities used in industry practices that vary across countries.
• Frequent revisions of the HS result in the discontinuation or merging of some codes every five years, causing issues in analysis and implementation across countries.

It is recognized that many of the challenges faced by the HS are inherent and unavoidable in any multipurpose international commodity classification.