HS 2028 Amendments - Adapting the Harmonized System to Global Priorities and Trade Evolution

The HS 2028 amendments have now been accepted, marking a major milestone in the evolution of the Harmonized System, the international classification of goods that gives every traded product a standardized code, facilitating the implementation of trade regulations and serving as the backbone of international trade statistics.

The amendments comprise 299 sets of changes, resulting in a nomenclature of 1,229 headings and 5,852 subheadings. Compared with the HS 2022 edition, six new headings and 428 new subheadings have been created, while five headings and 172 subheadings have been deleted to reflect evolving trade patterns, technological progress and growing regulatory needs.

Those changes reflect critical, urgent or emerging topics, such as health emergency preparation, the fight against epidemics, and environmental pollution.

Key updates to the HS 2028

Public health is a central focus of HS 2028. New subheadings enhance the visibility of essential supplies used in health emergencies, including ambulances, personal protective equipment, medical ventilators and diagnostic devices. These changes respond to lessons learned from recent global health crises and will facilitate the application of emergency trade measures and preparedness planning.

HS 2028 also introduces major structural changes for vaccines, reclassifying products previously covered by heading 30.02 into two new headings: heading 30.07 for vaccines for human medicine, with disease-based subheadings, and heading 30.08 for other vaccines, including veterinary vaccines. This new structure improves transparency of vaccine trade flows and supports global immunization programmes, particularly in emergency situations.

Another significant development is the creation of new heading 21.07 for dietary supplements, accompanied by new legal Notes. This amendment resolves long-standing classification challenges at the interface between food and pharmaceutical products, strengthens legal certainty and improves the quality of trade statistics in a rapidly expanding market.

Environmental protection features prominently in HS 2028. The classification of plastic waste has been restructured to align with the Basel Convention, introducing new subheadings that distinguish hazardous plastic waste, plastic waste subject to prior informed consent procedures and other plastic waste. In addition, HS 2028 improves transparency in trade in plastic products, including single-use items, through new subheadings and legal clarifications that support more consistent classification, better trade data and policies to reduce plastic pollution and promote circular economy approaches.

Beyond these key areas, the HS 2028 amendments also address societal protection, enforcement priorities and technological change, including improvements for goods controlled under international conventions, enhanced visibility for certain environmentally relevant products and targeted clarifications to HS provisions to ensure more uniform interpretation and application.

Next Steps

With the HS 2028 amendments now accepted, the remaining two-year implementation period provides essential time for the WCO and its Members to prepare for entry into force on 1 January 2028, including the development of the Correlation Tables, updates to HS tools and publications, capacity-building activities and national implementation measures. These efforts will support a smooth transition and the effective, uniform application of HS 2028 worldwide.

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