On 21 January 2026, the World Customs Organization WCO advised that the Harmonised System HS 2028 amendments have now been accepted, marking a major milestone in the evolution of the HS, the international classification of goods that gives every traded product a standardised 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.
