Meaning & use
Harmonized Tariff Schedule
Last updated
Meanings
proper nounproperbusinessAmerican
An official US list that gives a code and a duty rate for every kind of goods brought into the country.
Grammar: Takes "the" and capital letters: check the Harmonized Tariff Schedule before you ship.
Patterns
- the Harmonized Tariff Schedule
- look something up in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule
- under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule
Before quoting a price to our buyer, we checked the Harmonized Tariff Schedule to see what duty applies to leather boots.
The customs broker opened the Harmonized Tariff Schedule and found the ten-digit code for frozen shrimp.
If the code is wrong, the shipment can be held, so the importer reads the Harmonized Tariff Schedule very carefully.
proper nounproperbusinesstechnical
The international system of product codes that this US list is built on, used by customs services in many countries.
Grammar: Often called the HS or the Harmonized System when the international coding system is meant, not the US rates.
Patterns
- based on the Harmonized Tariff Schedule
- the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
Because both countries use the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, the same six-digit code identifies the product on each side of the border.
Our software maps each product to a heading in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule so that paperwork is filled in automatically.
Common combinations
- check the Harmonized Tariff Schedule
- Always check the Harmonized Tariff Schedule before you promise a delivery date.
- a code in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule
- Each item needs a code in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule.
- classify goods under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule
- Brokers classify goods under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule to work out the duty.
- the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
- The full legal name is the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.
- an entry in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule
- She searched for the right entry in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule.
Synonyms and how they differ
- tariff schedule
- Shorter and more general; it can mean any country's list of duties, not just the US one with this official name.
- customs tariff
- Focuses on the taxes charged rather than on the coded list itself, so it fits when you talk about rates, not classification.
- HS code list
- Informal and used for the international coding system; it does not carry the legal force of the US schedule.
Word family
- harmonize verb
- To make systems or rules the same across countries, as this schedule does with product codes.
- tariff noun
- A tax that a government charges on imported or exported goods.
- classification noun
- The act of deciding which code in the schedule a product belongs to.
Commonly confused: Harmonized Tariff Schedule or Harmonized System? Harmonized Tariff Schedule or free trade agreement?
Harmonized Tariff Schedule vs Harmonized System
The Harmonized System is the international set of headings managed by the World Customs Organization; the Harmonized Tariff Schedule is the US legal list that adds duty rates and statistical codes.
Harmonized Tariff Schedule vs free trade agreement
A free trade agreement is a treaty between countries, while the Harmonized Tariff Schedule is the list of codes and rates used to apply such deals at the border.
Practice
A company wants to know which duty rate applies to imported ceramic tiles. Which sentence uses the term correctly?
Choose one answer.
The schedule is a list of product codes and duty rates, so you look goods up in it; you do not sign it, use it for wages, or read environmental rules from it.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Harmonized Tariff Schedule”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.