Changes in trade classifications are now underway
Every five years, the World Customs Organization (WCO) updates the International Harmonized System (HS) used to classify imported and exported goods. Effective January 1, 2022, a change was made to the interpretation of textile materials considered to be impregnated, coated, covered or laminated with plastics. This can impact rates of duty, not only for the textiles, themselves, but also for goods made out of those textiles, as well as eligibility for trade preferences, whether those goods are considered to be in the scope of enforcement actions such as antidumping orders, and a host of trade issues that tend to derive from how products are classified under the Harmonized System.